Eastern Illinois Swimmer Sues for Unlawful Arrest, Excessive Force

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Eastern Illinois swimmer Jaylan Butler is suing six police officers over an incident last February in which he was arrested at gun point and detained on the trip back from a swim meet.

The incident stems from the team’s trip to the Summit League Championships in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. On the bus ride back Feb. 24, 2019, Butler and several teammates got off the charter bus in East Moline, Illinois, to stretch their legs. Moments after posing for a picture with teammates, several police cars pulled up, yelling at Butler, the only black swimmer on the team, to get on the ground with guns drawn.

One officer, according to court documents provided by the American Civil Liberties Union’s Illinois chapter, placed his gun to Butler’s head and said, “If you keep moving, I’m going to blow your [expletive] head off.” Butler was searched, handcuffed and detained in the back of a police car. He was released from custody after being allowed to return to the bus to provide identification.

“Mr. Butler was traumatized by this incident,” the ACLU’s filing says. “Since the event, he has felt angry, scared, and depressed. He has had trouble concentrating at school and participating in activities. In class the next day, Mr. Butler found himself staring down at the bruises around his wrists, replaying the previous night’s events in his head until finally he realized his class had ended and he was the only person still sitting there.”

The ACLU is alleging a violation of Butler’s constitutional protections against unlawful search and seizure, false arrest, excessive detention and excessive force, according to the Fourth Amendment, as well as various Illinois state statutes.

“What happened to Jaylan is an example of the harmful police interactions that people of color experience far too often, but which receive much less attention,” said ALCU of Illinois staff attorney Rachel Murphy in a press release. “These officers forcibly arrested and searched Jaylan without reasonable suspicion, probable cause, or any other lawful justification. They never told Jaylan why he was being arrested, even after they realized their mistake. Instead, it’s clear they based their decision to arrest and harm Jaylan on the fact that he was a young Black man.”

Butler is a sophomore butterflier for the Panthers. The native of St. Louis is majoring in biological sciences.

The suit is against officers from the Hampton Police Department, the East Moline Police Department and the Rock Island County Sheriff’s Office.

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Kimberly Joy
4 years ago

I don’t believe it. Not by a long shot. Half the story is missing.

Jay Ruberg
4 years ago

Tim Ruberg??

Kristine Murphy Grim
4 years ago

Kimberly Joy nope!

Kimberly Joy
4 years ago

Kristine Murphy Grim yeah, sorry. Cops don’t pull up and do that for absolutely no reason. There’s a big chunk missing here.

Michelle Schwarcz-Haubrich

Good for him. I hope the school is supporting him as well.

Troy Murray
4 years ago

Kimberly Joy swimming world did an incomplete job of covering the situation. There’s a different article out there that goes into greater detail: https://www.google.com/amp/s/qconline.com/news/local/traveling-teen-mistakenly-taken-down-by-local-police-aclu-has/article_9fb0f0e2-b90f-52f2-ab5c-79cef4d10368.amp.html

Kimberly Joy
4 years ago

Troy Murray better article but I would still like to hear the police response. Having been in line horse meant for well over a decade, and then a prosecutor, and now at judge, I can definitely say that when police officers respond in that manner it’s because they are looking for somebody armed. And you always draw down until you confirm the individuals are unarmed. If it’s a mistake or turns out it is not who you were looking for, you let them go. That’s what I see here.

Ken Minneman
4 years ago

Which aspect do you not believe? That he’s a swimmer who was with teammates returning from a meet? That the officers pulled guns on him? That they detained him without explication? That they singled him out for being black? That the threat another person also heard was said? All these things seem pretty much facts with witnesses so I’m not sure which part of it you don’t believe.

Kimberly Joy
4 years ago

Ken Minneman i have no doubt, just like always, there was a reason. All the “facts” you point to – like being detailed without cause – are opinion. Just like the fact that he was “singled out” for being black is opinion.

I guarantee the police were likely searching for someone or something and the bus was in the wrong place at the right time….and a suspect they were looking for could have been black as well. We detained MANY over the years at gunpoint for a variety of reasons and people turned out to not be who we were looking for…with that kind of police response, they were definitely acting on some kind of information. That does not constitute excessive force.

Amazing that everyone here jumps to a conclusion after only hearing half the story, without knowing anything about police procedure, and with no background in law. But whatever.

Colleen Hazlett
4 years ago

Kimberly Joy They may not for you but they do for others.

Colleen Hazlett
4 years ago

Kimberly Joy On a swim team bus?

Connie Wolf Shaw
4 years ago

Kimberly Joy as a judge you are supposed to show more balance in your judgment, but clearly you conclude there is more to the story. Story is an innocent student athlete was targeted because of his color. When a bus driver and coach explained the situation the student should of NEVER been handcuffed and placed into a squad car. Stop defending police who appear to be hiding their reports, or lack their of on this incident, and a system of prosecutors and judges defending. I’m pro-police but sorry these first two officers need to be fired. They are in the wrong line of duty with their excessive ness. I had a student athlete who swam in this conference. If this would of happened to my child I would of been furious and suing as well. Uncalled for excessive ness.

Ami Erickson
4 years ago

Kimberly Joy agree. Something is off.

Donald P. Spellman
4 years ago

Kimberly Joy : Obviously the officers involved had great training too? LOL!

Scott Coombs
4 years ago

The young man is still on the Swim team a year later! I’m pretty sure the school and teammates are supporting him.

Dawn Harmon-Gupton
4 years ago

Hannah Gupton this is crazy,, read the link in the comments for a more detailed story. I can’t even imagine how scary this was for the young man.?

Susan O'Brien Williams

Kimberly Joy not what the article said. They did not let him go when they realized this was not the person they were looking for:
They did not, however, remove his handcuffs or inform him that he was free to go, even though they had already recognized that Mr. Butler was not the suspect for whom they were searching.”

Instead, according to the lawsuit, the officers told Butler he was being arrested for resisting arrest. They took him to a squad car, patted him down, searched his coat pockets, and placed him in the back of a squad car for several minutes. They then removed him from the car, took off the cuffs, and told him to get his ID off the bus.

After producing his ID, Butler was released from police custody, and the officers were gone.

Susan O'Brien Williams

Kimberly Joy the chunk that is missing is the fact that the police ran and hid. They are not talking, deny this took place and have no record of it in their log book. Definitely something is missing. All they need to do it step forward and tell the truth. A bus load if people were witnesses and can corroborate the same story and the police are silent. It’s obvious what is missing here.

Sarah Lynn Dillon
4 years ago

Kimberly Joy I do not understand “ in line horse meant.”

Kimberly Joy
4 years ago

Connie and Susan you are just making the point. You are accepting a biased article as fact with only half the story.

Many many times we would have dozens of citizens state their opinions about police procedure, when in fact, there was nothing wrong with how police handled a situation. Life is not a Law and Order episode so unless you went to an academy and qualify as an expert and have extensive forst hand knowledge from the police department why they did what they did….your so called “facts” are still more opinion.

Something is very off with this whole story.

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