A fourth-year student was arrested by the Chicago Police Department (CPD) at the October 11 pro-Palestine protest on campus and charged with aggravated battery of a peace officer under 720 ILCS 5.0/12-3.05-D-4. In Illinois, aggravated battery of a peace officer is a class 2 felony, punishable by three to seven years in prison, up to 30 months of probation, and/or fines up to $25,000.
The student was released on Saturday, October 12, according to his CPD arrest record.
CPD documents obtained by the Maroon through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request state that an officer felt the student “shove him, kick him in the legs, and strike him with an open hand to the left side of the face.” The officer sustained “blunt trauma” and “abrasion” injuries, described as “minor.” The student also sustained a “minor” scrape on his left knee and was treated while in custody.
This information is corroborated by photographs captured by the Maroon during the protest, which show the student kicking a CPD officer in the back of the leg. Subsequently, three CPD officers attempted to restrain the student, who fled but tripped and fell against a parked car. He continued to flee, with officers hitting his arms and legs with a baton. According to the police report, officers observed a bystander stick their leg out and trip the student, allowing CPD to detain and handcuff him.
During the October 11 protest, pro-Palestine demonstrators locked Cobb Gate and graffitied the “Nuclear Energy” sculpture before University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) officers entered the crowd and detained one individual. The detainment sparked physical confrontations between protesters and police, who pepper-sprayed demonstrators surrounding a UCPD vehicle. According to a University spokesperson, three individuals were arrested at the protest.
The Maroon independently verified the arrested student’s identity and affiliation with the University by cross-referencing his CPD arrest log, photos captured by the Maroon at the protest, FOIA documents, as well as details and photographs from the student’s public social media profiles.
Zachary Leiter and Nathaniel Rodwell-Simon contributed reporting.
Correction, October 29, 2024, 2 p.m.: A previous version of this article incorrectly reported the sentencing guidelines for class 2 aggravated battery of a peace officer as “up to three years in prison.” The correct guideline is “not less than three years and not more than seven years.”