|
 Federal Suit Accuses Police Of Brutality Against
Gay Chicago Area Man
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 1 6, 2007 - 11:00 am ET
(Chicago, Illinois) A 47-year old gay man
has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Markham, Illinois Police
Force alleging officers burst into his home, physically abused him and made
repeated gay slurs against him.
Armed with a search warrant for drugs police
smashed through the door of Frankie Brown's home in suburban Markham on May
31, handcuffed Brown to chair in the front doorway and in full view of
neighbors, and continually berated him for being gay, the lawsuit claims.
Police also told neighbors that Brown is
HIV-positive, something that Brown had wanted to keep quiet.
"All my neighbors were standing around," Brown told CBS News in
Chicago. "They kept
asking, 'why you all doin' him like this?"
The lawsuit alleges that police told neighbors
that they needed to know who they were living next to.
As the search warrant was being executed police
called Brown a number of homophobic names. When a teenage male nephew who
lives with Brown and is Brown's legal ward, arrived at the home police accused
Brown of having sex with the youth.
Brown sat handcuffed to the chair for more than
two hours as police ransacked his home looking for drugs. No drugs were
ever found and Brown has no prior record for drugs.
Still, according to the lawsuit, he was taken to
jail and held for 17 hours even though no charges were ever laid.
"I’ll sleep better tonight knowing there
is one less fag on the street," one police officer allegedly said as Brown
was led away.
Neighbor Jeffrey Nowden who went to the front of Brown's home when he heard the
commotion backs up Brown's allegations against the police.
"They was making all kinds of homosexual innuendoes and jokes about
him," Nowden told CBS.
"They had a picture of his family up there and they
were making all kind of remarks. It was just sad."
©365Gay.com 2007
|
Entertainment
