Dixon Found Innocent on all Charges Files Lawsuit Against Chicago Police

I was not born in the best of circumstances, but I have worked hard all of my life to develop a good character and establish a good reputation.  In the morning of January 21, 2009, that reputation was seriously damaged, if not destroyed, in a matter of minutes and hours by several Chicago Police officers.  All that I had worked for and accomplished in 47 years of living and striving was shattered and ruined in an instant.  I’m a person who has worked hard against great odds, a person who has played by the rules, a person who has ask nothing more than to play on a level playing field, but none of that mattered or made a difference in the early morning hours of January 21, 2009.

I was paraded before Chicagoans, through the media, as an elected official who was trying to throw her political weight around.  Nothing could have been further from the truth.  I didn’t even mention that I was an Alderman until the situation had gone on for some time, and then not in a manner that was trying to claim a “special privilege.”  The police roadblock was not clear – their car was backed against the curb; their headlights were off; their blue lights were not on; cars were coming in the other direction; and there was a lane-and-a-half open going in my direction that was not blocked.  As I approached the intersection, my attention was focused on the flashing lights of the fire trucks about a block in the distance.  As I slowed, suddenly a police car pulled out in front of me.  I swerved leftward and turned down a street.  I turned around and returned to Sheridan Road.  As I did, I saw that the police in the car were agitated and yelling at me.  I pulled over close to them, stopped, rolled down my window and tried to talk to them.  I was trying to tell them that what they were doing was confusing and dangerous – car against the curb, no headlights on, no blue lights – and they resented it.  When they resisted my input, were indignant over my suggestions and disrespectful of my personhood, I stood up to them.  I stood up for my dignity and my rights and I ask them for their badge numbers.  That – not trying to go around a police roadblock, not diving without proper insurance, not driving drunk – that, asking them for their badge numbers, is what triggered my arrest!  That’s what I described at my press conference on the afternoon of January 21 as a “big misunderstanding.

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