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Chicago's top cop recommends officer be fired for Brickyard Mall incident
Chicago's top cop is recommending Officer David Laskus be fired. He's filed a complaint with the Chicago Police Board.
CHICAGO - Chicago's top cop wants one of his own fired.
Police Superintendent David Brown filed disciplinary charges against an officer who is accused of dragging a woman by her hair out of a car and kneeling on her neck outside the Brickyard Mall in 2020.
Brown recommended Officer David Laskus be fired and filed a complaint with the Chicago Police Board.
The board will decide whether Laskus is fired.
Mia Wright claims the violent actions by police on May 31, 2020, left her blind in her right eye, potentially ending her dream of becoming a paramedic.
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Video of that incident sparked controversy from the start. Chicago police surrounded a red car at the Brickyard Mall, breaking windows, then pulling five people out, including Wright who was dragged by her hair and taken into custody.
The hair-dragging incident occurred during a tumultuous weekend that saw demonstrations and looting that started in downtown and River North and spread to Chicago neighborhoods. The protests were sparked by the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.
Wright and three family members have said they were trying to exit the mall parking lot after realizing the Target they wanted to go to was closed.
The city said there was no evidence the group was involved in looting. Eight officers were disciplined for their actions that day.
Although she was complying with police commands, Wright claims an officer grabbed her hair, which had been wound into a bun, and yanked her from the car, then knelt on her back and neck while she was on ground.
"All I thought about was what happened to George Floyd and it could have been another situation like that," Wright has said of the incident.
Wright and the other women were arrested and brought to a nearby police station. Only Wright was held overnight and charged with a misdemeanor, a charge that was later dropped.
The Associated Press and Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.