Man charged with aggravated battery was slammed by Chicago Police Officer

      On Thanksgiving day there was an arrest made in Chicago. The altercation happened on the south side of Chicago at a busy intersection. The man was named Bernard Kursh was drinking at a bus stop when he was stopped by a police officer. The man started to get into a verbal confrontation with the police officer. He threatened the police officer and then spit in his face.
 
      After that, the officer decided to take matters into his own hands. He put him in handcuffs. The man resisted arrest when the officer lifted the man in the air and slammed him into the curb. The man hit his head onto the curb and appeared to be motionless. The body slam was caught on video and posted on the internet. The video only shows the man facing the car in handcuffs when he was slammed to the ground. In the background of the video, you can hear people remarking about how the force was unwarranted.

      He was arrested with charges for aggravated battery, resisting arrest, assault, and drinking alcohol in public. Following the incident Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. bailed him out of jail. He has his own group called the Rainbow Push Coalition. He watched the video that was circulating on the internet and wanted justice for Mr. Kursh. He was worried that the force the officer used could have permanently harmed Mr. Kursh.
 
      Following the incident, the police department opened an investigation. The police department said, "If wrongdoing is discovered, officers will be held accountable". Although it looks excessively violent in the video it does not record the moments leading up to the slam. Hopefully, the police department does a thorough investigation and is not biased in any way.



Andone, Dakin. “Man Slammed by Chicago Police Officer Charged with Aggravated Battery.” CNN, Cable News Network, 1 Dec. 2019, www.cnn.com/2019/12/01/us/chicago-arrest-body-slam-jesse-jackson/.