A Chicago police officer has been suspended from duty for another improper stop and search of a Black civilian.
Officer Richard Rodriguez Jr. just faced repercussions for previous violations against Black Chicagoans’ rights. Now, a ruling from a Chicago Police Board member will hold Rodriguez accountable for this repeated offense toward Black men in the downtown area. According to WTTW, Rodriguez will be suspended from the force for at least 30 days over the policy violation.
This ruling stems from a September 2023 incident where Rodriguez reportedly ripped a man’s pants off while on duty with the Near North (18th) Police District tactical team. The altercation began after Rodriguez and two fellow officers on the team questioned three men sitting on the front steps of a business.
One of the men, identified as Jeremiah Blankenship, ran away from the police during the encounter. The officers chased after him, catching up with Blankenship four blocks away. After apprehending the man, Rodriguez escalated the encounter with the invasive search of his body.
“Officer Rodriguez searched the crotch area under the top layer of clothing, exposing (Blakenship’s) underwear,” according to the probe conducted by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
However,
forwp-incontent-custom-banner ampforwp-incontent-ad2">Despite the recommendation, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling objected to the allegations that Rodriguez’s search was improper. Instead, he defended Rodriguez’s action, stating that the pants were in “very poor condition,” leading them to fall apart.
However, Rodriguez admitted to ripping the pants purposefully despite the public setting, stretching the clothing to see if Blankenship had anything tucked in the buttocks area. With the COPA board and Snelling disagreeing on the suspension, a random member of the CPB had to decide on the matter.
That member, Justin Terry, cited Rodriguez’s own account and admission of what happened with Blankenship to determine the suspension as necessary.
“The superintendent’s explanation of Officer Rodriguez’s actions is not persuasive in light of Officer Rodriguez’s statement in response to Mr. Blankenship’s asking why he ripped his jeans and the exposure of his undergarment,” Terry wrote.
The ruling comes just months after Rodriguez received another suspension for a prior improper search. The Chicago cop also has dozens of complaints for violations on duty, with one incident even resulting in the stripping of his police powers.
He becomes the fifth member of that tactical team to lose his badge and gun for unprofessional conduct against Black residents in the city.
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