Youth activist group calls out Chicago police for breaking teeth of Black teenage girl
Miracle Boyd, 18, was out protesting against Christopher Columbus statue in Chicago's Grant Park when she was assaulted by police on video
A young Black activist, known for using her voice to help stop the violence in Chicago, became a victim of a violent act on Friday night.
Eighteen-year-old Miracle Boyd, a member of the group GoodKids MadCity had some of her teeth knocked out by a police officer after speaking to a crowd about removing the Christopher Columbus statue in Chicago’s Grant Park, according to reporting from Block Club Chicago.
Part of the incident was captured by Boyd in a video, which has since been removed from Facebook. A second video has emerged on the GoodKidsMadCity Twitter account.
“.@chicagosmayor We now have the video of Miracle being sucker punched by CPD!” the activist group said in the post, tagging the official Twitter page of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “They don’t keep us safe! While they’re attacking a 2020 CPS graduates downtown, children were being shot tonight!”
The post also called for the police department to be defunded, a rallying call that emerged in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ky.
Not too far from the statue, you can see Boyd talking to a white police officer before he decides to punch her in the face. The teenager then almost scampers off in the opposite direction trying to avoid further confrontation with the officer.
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The incident was among many disturbing moments, including the use of pepper spray on protesters.
Boyd has become a leader for the city and for many the video is almost too hard to watch.
GoodKids MadCity followed up on Twitter saying not only did Boyd have some of her teeth knocked out but that she also suffered injuries to her face in the incident. A photo of Boyd was posted to the group’s page, displaying a busted mouth and multiple broken teeth.
The group said “OUR MEMBER MIRACLE WAS BEATEN UP BY THE POLICE TONIGHT AND THEY STOLE HER PHONE” later asking ‘THI IS HOW YOU TREAT BLACK GIRLS!?”
“I’m going to tell you right now, if this was my kid — and Miracle is one of mine — I would burn this city to the ground,” Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th) said in the Block Club Chicago report. “You beat people up over a statue? You rough them up over a statue?
“They’re so busy protecting white supremacy, they’re so busy protecting a Christopher Columbus statue that they beat her.”
Lightfoot did not address the incident directly, but did take time to speak on Twitter about the concerns over police force.
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“I have spoken to the director of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, and she has assured me that @ChicagoCOPA stands ready to address these complaints and will ensure that each of these is dealt with and investigated. We will not spare any resources to do so,” she wrote in the post.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay for Boyd’s medical cost.
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