Video that includes
racially-charged comments from a Chicago police officer to a salon manager is
part of a lawsuit filed against the department last week.
The surveillance video from the
Copper Tan and Spa, on the 1000 block of North Milwaukee in the city's Noble
Square neighborhood, was recorded July 31 of last year, according to a
timestamp on the footage. It was released to NBC 5 on Monday.
The incident stemmed from a
reported raid on the business after an undercover officer was allegedly offered
a sex act by a massage therapist. In the video, officers are seen entering the
spa and attempting to detain the salon's manager, Jianqing "Jessica" Klyzek.
"You’re not f******
American," one police officer is heard on the video yelling to Klyzek.
"I’ll put you in a UPS box and send you back to wherever the f*** you came
from."
"I’m a citizen, OK?"
Klyzek responded.
"No you’re not! No, you’re
not a citizen! No, you’re not! No, you’re not! You’re here on our borrowed
time," the officer said. "So mind your f****** business before I shut
this whole f****** place down. And I’ll take this place and then whoever owns
it will f****** kill you because they don’t care about you, OK? I’ll take this
building. You’ll be dead and your family will be dead."
Klyzek's lawyer, Torreya
Hamilton, says her client was also physically abused.
"One of the police
officers strikes her in the head from behind while she's handcuffed behind her
back and subdued," Hamilton said. "They are treating her like she is
less than a human being."
Klyzek was twice charged with
aggravated battery to the officers but the charges were dropped both times, the
Chicago Sun-Times reported.
The federal lawsuit said
officers in the video could be seen attempting to locate the footage recorded
by the camera but were unable to because it was recorded off-site.
Police spokesman Adam Collins
issued the following statement Monday.
"The alleged conduct and
comments are reprehensible and completely intolerable in our police department.
We have codes of conduct that apply to officers and if the allegations are
proven accurate, appropriate action will be taken."
