Lawsuit: APD Officers Sued for Civil Rights Violations; Victim Seeking Restorative Accountability
Content note: police brutality
On April 23, 2021, Aurora Illinois resident and community advocate George Gutierrez, represented by attorneys from First Defense Legal Aid, filed a lawsuit against Aurora Police Officers for multiple civil rights violations including excessive use of force, false arrest, and unlawful seizure. The lawsuit was filed in federal court for the Northern District of Illinois (attached to this release), and is unique among civil rights litigation in that Mr. Gutierrez’s ultimate goal is a public forum with relevant stakeholders to encourage accountability for violations of rights by Aurora police.
Mr. Gutierrez brings the lawsuit not for material gain. In lieu of traditional monetary damages, Mr. Gutierrez plans to ask for an agreement from the city to jointly host an honest conversation about police accountability in Aurora with community advocates, lawmakers, and relevant officials. Mr. Gutierrez seeks to use his experience to create a larger discussion of policing in Aurora and the impact it has on the community at large. His experience, far from isolated, is deeply embedded within the policing and criminal justice system.
“I filed this lawsuit to make real change within APD’s culture, not to make money," Gutierrez said. "It's not about the money. It shouldn’t be the case that when someone is injured by police, like I was, that it is just written off as business as usual."
Previously incarcerated for almost 24 years, Mr. Gutierrez knows the consequences negative police interactions can create. Since his release, Mr. Gutierrez has strived to change this narrative by creating positive relationships between police and the community in Aurora. However, in spite of this, he has watched the leadership of the city, for months and years, attempt to paint the department as free from misconduct.
“Police Chief Ziman has stated numerous times within the past year that her officers do no wrong, and that if they do, they will be fired or dealt with swiftly. My case shows that has not happened," Gutierrez added. "Time and again officers get away with bending or breaking the law to their own advantage, and it is time that the department and its leadership to be held accountable in its truest sense as we are for our actions.”
The facts underlying the lawsuit paint a dire picture for the Aurora Police Department. On April 26, 2020, Mr. Gutierrez—seconds away from his residence—was stopped by Aurora Police for allegedly failing to signal while turning, a story which dashcam footage does not support. Police followed him to his driveway, where his sister and minor niece witnessed the events that followed.
Instead of releasing Mr. Gutierrez or writing him a ticket, officers unconstitutionally extended the traffic stop in order to unreasonably question him about his unrelated criminal history. This is not the first time Mr. Gutierrez has been targeted by APD for his history, despite the fact he has completed his sentence for crimes which he was accused of 28 years ago.
While his family watched, Officer Matthew Thomas Meyers shattered Gutierrez's driver’s side window, and with assistance of Officer C. Mccue slammed Mr. Gutierrez’s head into a nearby van. Officers then falsely stated in their police report that Mr. Gutierrez tensed his body and hit his own head on the van. Cell phone footage taken by Mr. Gutierrez’s minor niece shows that Mr. Gutierrez was seated in his car, unarmed, and with his hands up in submission to the officers at the time of the violent attack.
His own experience—both on April 26, 2020, and during other wrongful stops—show that accountability in Aurora is present in name only.
To read the lawsuit, view the filed Complaint here.
To view the dashcam footage of the pretextual traffic stop, click here.
To view the cell phone footage of officers’ excessive force, click here.
Viewer discretion is advised: police violence.