Nikkita Brown/Photo courtesy of My Campus Gist
Nikkita Brown, the Chicago woman, harassed by a policeman as she walked her dog along an area beach, has given her account of what happened that night.
Appearing on Good Morning America for an interview, Brown recounted when the officer followed her and eventually engaged in contact that was outrageous enough for him to be placed on administrative leave.
According to Brown, the policeman told her that he would drive behind her to make sure she exited the area, but that quickly changed, and he decided to pursue her on foot despite telling him that she was leaving and walking towards the exit.
As the officer became more ardent in his pursuit of Brown, she pulled out her cell phone so that she would have a record of what was happening and to call and let someone know what could have happened to her had she suffered the fate that many Black Americans have at the hands of the law enforcement.
“Even if somebody didn’t answer,” she said, she wanted to “at least leave a voicemail and say, ‘if you call me in the morning and you don’t reach me, I’m in jail, or worse,'” she said.
After Brown continually asked the unmasked officer to keep his distance, he tackled her and knocked her phone out of her hands. The two struggled for approximately two minutes while she screamed for help.
“I knew if he got me on the floor, I would be dead,” Brown said.
The incident is still being investigated by Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability. They are not affiliated with the Chicago Police Department and say that if their investigation reveals that the policeman acted outside of the scope of the policy, he will reap the consequences.
As for Brown, being harassed by an officer has left her with emotional and mental trauma. She feels anxious merely leaving her house.
“If anything, I should feel even more protected by a police presence as a single woman walking at night, not be fearful that I’m going to die at the hands of an officer,” said Brown.
The policeman’s identity is still being kept secret for privacy reasons. However, Brown’s attorney has said that the offending officer has been involved in previous racial profiling cases.