Red Line beating caught on video; may have been sparked by slur

SHARE Red Line beating caught on video; may have been sparked by slur
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A video posted to Twitter shows a beating on the Red Line that, according to the person posting the video, was sparked by a racist taunt. | Screenshot

The beating of a passenger on a CTA train — possibly sparked by a racial slur — was captured on video and has caught the attention of Chicago Police.

It appears to have happened on a southbound Red Line train as it was approaching U.S. Cellular Field. Multiple videos and audio of the incident were posted to Twitter by someone purporting to have witnessed it.

That person added this comment: “After being called “n—–” over and over this old man had enough and beat the s— out of this drunk racist dude.”

Some comments added to the online video say the white man who was beaten had been taunting the black man who eventually reacted; one short recording shows little but does capture audio of someone saying “Hit me! Do something, n—–!”

In the video showing the bulk of the incident, the black man, wearing a navy sport coat, khakis and a cap, repeatedly kicks and wrestles with the white man, then grabs his head and beats it against the floor. The white man was wearing light-colored pants and blue surgical-type smock. He had tattoos on both arms.

The white man wore a baseball-style cap backwards on his head — until it was knocked off. The black man’s hat stayed on his head — and his jacket stayed buttoned — throughout the incident.

As the train arrives at the Sox/35th station, the older man pushes the other man onto the platform — and someone tosses him one of his shoes, which apparently had come off during the ordeal. That same Twitter account also had two follow-up videos posted. One showed the man who’d been beaten sitting on the train platform, appealing — apparently without success — to a CTA worker as he was taunted by passengers before the train pulled away. The other, taken on the train, showed the man in the blue jacket sitting back, catching his breath and receiving a few accolades from other passengers.

A CTA spokesman said the transit agency is “aware of a disturbance aboard a CTA Red Line train that occurred at the Sox-35th station on Monday at approximately 5 p.m. but at this time no police report has been filed . . . We are available to assist in any investigation by police including by providing any available video footage.”

The police department issued this statement Wednesday:

“A search of our databases revealed no recent documented battery incidents occurring on the Red Line train, near the 35th Street Station. We are aware of the altercation captured on video and circulating on social media and are looking into the matter.”

Here’s the video, which has some violent content:

after being called n—– over and over this old man had enough and beat the s— out of this drunk racist dude 😭 pic.twitter.com/QAOtH6Dqxf — kemond (@raresoulx) April 19, 2016

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