A video circulating online of a Chicago police officer wrestling a man in the Loop has picked up a sweet story: Thinking the officer was a security guard, the man swiped his phone and discovered the hard way that he had chosen the wrong target.
It’s a compelling story, but it’s not what happened, according to a CPD report documenting the man’s arrest, which came less than two weeks after he was arrested on the same street in an unrelated drug case.
Instead, the report says the confrontation began around 2 p.m. on May 4 when a 33-year-old man flagged down a Chicago police officer who was returning from traffic court in a marked police car. The man told the officer that 36-year-old Brandon Mickens had just punched him in the face and identified Mickens as the alleged attacker who was standing in the 300 block of South State Street, according to the arrest report.
The officer got out of his police car and approached Mickens and then tried to detain him by grabbing his shirt while radioing for officers on duty to respond, the report said. Mickens allegedly retreated and ran, sparking a struggle that was captured on video and later circulated online.
As the two struggled on the sidewalk, a witness flagged down a CPD transit unit and told officers that another officer further down the street was “being assaulted,” the report said. Those officers responded and helped take Mickens into custody.
According to the CPD report, the original officer had scratches on his face and arm, along with a swollen wrist. Mickens was charged with misdemeanor aggravated battery on a peace officer and misdemeanor counts of battery and resisting arrest. It was his second arrest on that same block in less than two weeks.
On April 24, officers assigned to a CPD surveillance team reportedly saw Mickens making hand gestures that they suspected were related to narcotics sales and noticed he had a clear bag containing a pill in his pocket. When police stopped him, police said they found three suspected ecstasy pills. In that case, he was charged with possession of a controlled substance and unlawful solicitation.
During a hearing after his latest arrest, Judge Ankur Srivastava arrested Mickens for violating pretrial release conditions in the narcotics case. Court records show Mickens was convicted twice in 2022 of being a felon in possession of a firearm and given consecutive prison sentences of three and four years.
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