Family of NIU athlete allegedly injured by police wants ‘what’s fair’

Matteson business owner Shaun Mitchell Sr. says he wants “what’s fair” after his son, Jyran, a star athlete, was allegedly injured by three police officers during a false arrest that left him with a torn meniscus in his knee and a distrust for law enforcement.

He says officials in the suburban village of Matteson won’t acknowledge any fault in the incident earlier this year outside the family’s home. Officers went to the home looking for Jyran’s brother but ended up taking Jyran briefly into custody instead, leading to the injuries that forced him to miss several athletic seasons, Mitchell said at a Thursday press conference about a lawsuit the family filed this week.

“When we tried to get the village to compensate Jyran for his injuries, we were given the cold shoulder. At the minimum, we thought they would at least admit a clear case of mistaken identity and pay his medical bills. We were wrong,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell, an honor student at Rich Central High School, missed the final two months of the basketball season and the entire track and field season. He was unable to defend his title in the Class 2A 4 x 100 relay from the season before.

The lawsuit states that Mitchell had to redshirt his freshman season on the NIU football team. He is currently attending the school on a scholarship.

“I was scared and nervous because for the first time, my life was in the hands of the police. After missing the rest of the basketball season and the entire track season, I had so much anger inside of me,” said Jyran. “I was angry at the world. With the help of my friends and family, I was able to get in a good place mentally.”

Victor Henderson, managing partner of the Cochran Law Firm, which filed the suit, charged that the approach of the police — which included a Matteson officer and two Illinois State Police officers — would’ve been different if the family was white.

“We have a different story here today. He was a star athlete, who has two parents. … In the safety of his own home, he was attacked by the police because he was young and an African-American,” Henderson said.

Mitchell Sr., who runs a tutoring program, has lived in the village since 1994. Overall, he describes the relationship between the police and the community as “decent.”

“As a father, my role is to protect my family. I fell short, but the same time, I’m in a village I’ve been in since ’94. I know the village leaders. Friends of mine,” Mitchell said. But now, “no one would return a call.”

Village and police officials and state police did not respond to requests for comment.