NEW in the Chicago Reader: Invisible Institute's Erisa Apantaku, Andrew Fan, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Maheen Khan and Isra Rahman published an investigation into officers accused of misconduct during the summer of 2020 and the outcome of discipline cases.
On the final day of May in 2020, at the height of demonstrations against police violence that gripped cities nationwide after the murder of George Floyd, protesters filmed a violent scene at the corner of Clark and Hubbard in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. Amid a confrontation with protesters, roughly a dozen Chicago police officers beat demonstrators, striking some with batons as they tried to escape and others as they fell to the ground.
A video provided to the Invisible Institute shows an officer named Richard Bankus approach one of the people on the ground. Bankus raises his baton and strikes the man, appearing to hit him in the head. As he’s hit, the protester on the ground backs away from Bankus, trying to avoid additional blows.
All the while, Sergeant Zachary Rubald stands directly behind Bankus, looking on. The scene unfolding in front of him is serious. Chicago Police Department (CPD) policy forbids officers from hitting people with batons unless they are attacking or threatening to attack officers or others. Even more, baton strikes to the head qualify as deadly force and are never allowed against nonviolent protesters. As a sergeant, Rubald is responsible for ensuring officers follow CPD rules and for reporting any misconduct he witnesses.
Instead, Rubald turns and walks away; he never reports the incident.