A former Chicago police officer who physically assaulted a Black woman walking her dog at North Avenue Beach has been indicted on felony charges related to the 2021 incident.
Bruce Dyker, a 23-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department before he resigned, was indicted on charges of aggravated battery and official misconduct, according to Cook County court records. He is expected to be arraigned later this week, the Chicago Tribune reports
Bruce Dyker was captured on cell phone video and his own body camera manhandling Nikkita Brown in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, according to the report. Brown was walking her dog on a leash after hours at a beach along the city’s lakefront when she was confronted by the seemingly aggressive ex-cop.
As reported previously by theGrio, the woman’s attorney, Keenan Saulter, told ABC 7 Chicago that the altercation began after Dyker asked Brown to leave the beach because it was closed.
In body camera footage Dyker is heard telling Brown “Get out of the park. What do you not understand about that? The park is closed. You are trespassing on city property, and you will go to jail if you don’t take your dog and leave.”
“I feel threatened,” Brown tells the officer.
“Good,” he responds. “I’m about to put handcuffs on you if you don’t keep walking. Do you want to test me on this.”
Dyker grabs the woman’s arm and struggles to restrain her. After about a minute, they separate and he follows Brown as she exits the park and they continue to exchange words.
Brown claimed there were other people walking on the beach but she was the only one targeted. She said she believes that she was being racially profiled, per ABC 7.
“For some reason, this officer decided to specifically interact, and then ultimately address and attack Ms. Brown,” Saulter told ABC 7 Chicago.
“The lakefront is now triggering because she was attacked there,” the attorney revealed on June 13 to NBC Chicago. “And more importantly, she was attacked by someone who had been sworn to actually protect her.”
Dyker resigned from the CPD last month before formal disciplinary action was taken against him. John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said Dyker displayed inappropriate conduct and resigned because of public scrutiny amid ongoing investigations, theGrio reported.
Dyker reportedly had 24 misconduct allegations lodged against him during his time with the CPD.
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