Illinois cop puts black man in illegal chokehold until he passes out, repeatedly tasers him in front of horrified girlfriend
A disturbing video has emerged in which an Illinois cop is seen putting an African-American man in an illegal chokehold while placing him under arrest over the weekend on the suspicion of him possessing a "load of drugs".
On Saturday, August 24, Elonte McDowell, 25, was stopped by the police near the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. The police claimed that they had received reports of him having drugs in his vehicle. At the time of the incident, he was accompanied by his girlfriend, Alyssa Retuerto, who witnessed the shocking incident.
"The information received advised that McDowell would be driving a tan Chevy Malibu and accompanied by a white female with long brown hair," the DeKalb Police Department said in a press release on Tuesday.
The officers told McDowell to exit his vehicle, which he did. As the deputies talked to him, a K-9 unit searched his vehicle. After it was alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vicinity, a felony amount of cannabis was located in his vehicle.
"Officers informed McDowell that he was under arrest and approached McDowell to place him into handcuffs. Upon doing so, McDowell attempted to flee. Officers attempted to restrain McDowell, who continued to resist their efforts to place him into handcuffs. During this encounter, a Taser was deployed to gain McDowell’s compliance," the press release said.
Although the statement did not specify exactly what kind of technique was used by the officers to restrain McDowell, the video recorded by his girlfriend and uploaded on Facebook showed the police using the chokehold method.
In the clip, McDowell was seen being placed in a chokehold by one officer, while two others attempted to cuff him. In the middle of the takedown, McDowell kept on yelling to Retuerto to record everything that was happening. As he continued to move, a fourth officer tasered him, at which point, he began to lose consciousness.
In order to console him, his girlfriend was seen walking up to him, rubbing her hand on his head and repeatedly telling him that she loved him. After ordering the woman to retreat, one of the officers was heard telling McDowell, "You're OK big boy. It's a nice fake."
Retuerto was heard crying as she asked the officers, "He has a pulse right? Because look at his face."
An ambulance was called on the scene but McDowell refused medical attention. He was later charged with unlawful possession of cannabis with the intent to deliver, unlawful possession of cannabis, criminal trespass to property, and resisting a peace officer. He was booked into the DeKalb County Jail and released on bond the following day.
Speaking to News 13 about the incident, McDowell said that the experience had overwhelmed him.
“It happened so quick. Looking from that outside in, that video is very disturbing to watch too," he said. "I’m blessed to still be here. To know that was me being choked and tased, that I took that amount of force by DeKalb Police Department. I wasn’t trying to assault them, I wasn’t trying to hit them or kick them. I didn’t have any weapons. I had (a) cellphone in my hand to record for my safety issues.”
In the press release, the DeKalb Police Department said that it was "reviewing all available video footage and statements regarding the use of force in this incident, and it has "contacted the Illinois State Police requesting they conduct an independent review of this incident."
The officer involved in this incident has been temporarily reassigned to administrative duties. When it comes to Illinois law, officers are prohibited from using chokeholds since 2015 "unless deadly force is justified."
The incident comes just a week after New York police officer Daniel Pantaleo was fired from his department for the chokehold death of Eric Garner in 2014.