Illinois state authorities say they are "investigating." What they are investigating is tied to a video, seemingly recorded at an Alton, Illinois police station,
from back in January.
The video, dated January 26, 2015, shows two teens sitting in a holding area at the Alton Police Department. An officer then walks in, says something, and then pulls out what appears to be a can of pepper spray and sprays both teens. One of the teens then twitches and shakes for several minutes.
The video is short and startling and clearly an abuse of power. There is nothing that can have happened prior to the video, nothing that could have been said during the video that would warrant the unidentified officer's actions. The video was provided to the news by James Gray, President of the Alton NAACP.
Gray showed the video to News 4 after receiving it in the mail. Gray said he does not like the way Alton Police Chief Jason Simmons is running the department. Simmons future will soon be by the Alton Board of Aldermen, who will decide whether to re-appoint him.
For his part, Simmons sounds like he is either completely innocent of of Gray's criticism or he's going to throw just about anybody he can under the bus.
Simmons said he has known about the incident since March when a high ranking officer told him what took place. Simmons said it then took two months for officers to write a report on the incident, which he said he received May 6.
[...]
Simmons told News 4 he is upset that his officers were slow in reporting the incident to him. He believes the delay may be due to the fact that many officers do not like some of the reforms he has put in place, and are therefore trying to find a way to oust him from his post.
Video of the assault below the fold.