A Chicago police officer has been charged with aggravated battery for allegedly hitting an eighth grade boy during a visit at a South Side school while off-duty last spring.
Video footage from outside Gresham Elementary School shows Officer Craig Lancaster, 55, shoving JaQuwaun Williams, 14, in the neck as the boy attempts to enter the building on May 18.
The video has no sound and does not show any apparent interaction between the two before the altercation. The boy was ushered away by a teacher.
Lancaster was indicted Thursday on one felony count of aggravated battery in a public place, according to court records. By afternoon, the Chicago Police Department said Lancaster “was relieved of police powers today.”
“This is what JaQuwaun wanted,” said attorney Jordan Marsh, who is representing the boy and his family in a federal lawsuit filed in the summer. “He wanted some accountability and wanted to make sure this didn’t happen to anyone else. That’s what he was really concerned about.
“The fact that it was witnessed by so many people, kids, just compounds the kind of damage caused by these incidents,” Marsh added. “It just so happens there’s a video in this case, thankfully.”
The video shows Lancaster arriving at the school and embracing a teacher who is directing children outside.
In the video, as JaQuwaun approaches the school building, Lancaster slams his hand against the boy’s neck, pushing him backward. He then approaches the boy, and according to Marsh, threatens to “beat the f---” out of him.
The teacher separates the two and directs JaQuwaun toward an opposite wall where the rest of the children are gathered.
“If JaQuwaun had responded physically to Officer Lancaster’s assault, he would have been in custody in seconds,” Marsh said. “Fortunately, JaQuwaun is not that kind of person.”
Lancaster is seen walking away from the building and is approached by a school security officer while JaQuwaun proceeds inside with the other children.
According to Marsh, Lancaster showed security his Chicago Police Department star and gun holster, then drove away.
“It’s just so shocking because it’s so unprovoked and it’s out of nowhere, but this is who we have patrolling our streets,” Marsh said.
The police department would not comment on Thursday’s charges other than saying Lancaster has been relieved of police powers.
Marsh filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Chicago and Lancaster in July. According to the suit, Lancaster has an “extensive history of on- and off-duty misconduct,” and has been accused of using excessive force at least 15 times.
Timothy Grace, the attorney representing Lancaster, would not comment directly on Thursday’s charges but said Lancaster is a “decorated Chicago police officer who was legally at the school when the minor child became a danger to the students and the staff.
“He acted in a manner to protect the children and staff from a student who clearly was a threat to all present,” Grace wrote in a statement. “He was acting within the scope of his duties as a law enforcement officer and acted in a manner that is consistent with the rules of the Chicago Police Department and laws of the State of Illinois.”
Grace did not provide details on the threat JaQuwaun posed.
