Black College Student Tackled & Threatened by Police



photo of Jaylan Butler
Jaylan Butler EIU student

EIU Swim Team Shocked at Abuse

In February of 2019, the Eastern Illinois University swim team had just attended a championship meet and were on their way home when their bus driver decided to take a break. The swim team students got out and walked around at the rest stop in East Moline, Illinois. Jaylan Butler, the only black person on the team, went to take a photo under a buckle up sign for the swim team’s social media.

While he was there, police vehicles from the Hampton Police Department, East Moline Police Department and Rock Island Sheriff’s Department came screeching into the parking lot.

Reality for Black Men

Black people, especially black men, are being taught by their parents what to do to hopefully survive an encounter with the police. Jaylan was no different. He put his hands up in the air and got down on his knees to show he was no threat to them. This is a reality for black men. They know officers unjustly perceive them as greater threats than white people. They know officers are more willing to use excessive force, even deadly force, against them. And they know many black people do not survive encounters with officers even though the black person wasn’t doing anything illegal or even suspicious.

Police Brutality

It didn’t matter what Jaylan did. The officers swarmed him with their guns drawn, yelling orders to get down. Jaylan complied. Officers used their body weight on his back and neck while they handcuffed him and one officer put a gun to Jaylan’s forehead saying, “If you keep moving, I’m going to blow your fucking head off.” The bus driver and swim team coach went to the officers telling them that Jaylan, who was wearing his EIU jacket, was part of the swim team and that they had been at a meet.

Cover-Up Mode Begins

Whether people realize it or not, when the police screw up the cover-up begins right away. Even though the officers were informed that Jaylan could not have been the person they were looking for the most they did was allow him to sit up without taking off the handcuffs. They then moved him to the back of a police vehicle stating he was being arrested for Resisting Arrest. This is their go to charge to justify anything they did. It’s hard to disprove it. It’s one person’s word against another’s, or quite often, against several officers who all use that charge for protection against accusations of police violence. They sure aren’t going to say one of their fellow officers is lying and that the person wasn’t resisting. They aren’t going to break the thin blue line.

Jaylan was finally released but the cover-up continued. Per the BuzzFeedNews.com article, “According to the lawsuit, Butler was never told why he was detained or arrested. Officers also declined to give Butler their names, badge numbers or agency affiliations, the lawsuit alleges, and they did not document the stop and search or give Butler a receipt following the encounter, both of which are required under Illinois law.”

ACLU Steps In

On February 15, 2020, the ACLU filed a lawsuit on Jaylan’s behalf. Not surprisingly, the finger pointing and denials began. The Rock Island Sheriff’s Department said their officers were only there briefly before continuing with the search for the suspect. The East Moline Police Department says their men acted appropriately. And the Hampton Police Department, won’t comment. They are referring questions to their legal department.

Go to the BuzzFeed article for additional details.

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