06/02/2026
๐พ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ค ๐๐ช๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ 2019 ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ฃโ๐ฉ ๐ฝ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐: ๐๐๐๐ค๐ง๐๐จ
The Chicago police officer who punched a 17-year-old in August 2019 in what investigators ruled was an unjustified use of excessive force and called a Black man who was filming the altercation โboyโ will not be fired, according to documents obtained by WTTW News.
Instead, Officer Michael Bryant should be suspended for 25 days, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling determined, rejecting the recommendation from the Civilian Office of Police Accountability to fire Bryant for his actions on Aug. 7, 2019, near Oak Street and Cambridge Avenue in Cabrini-Green, a complex operated by the Chicago Housing Authority that sits just west of the Gold Coast.
While Bryant committed misconduct during the incident, his actions were โnot so egregious as to warrant separation,โ Snelling told the head of the agency tasked with investigating police misconduct better known as COPA in an April 8, 2024, letter.
While COPA leaders could have asked the Chicago Police Board to resolve the dispute over whether Bryant should be terminated or suspended for 25 days, Chief Administrator LaKenya White agreed to accept Snellingโs recommendation of discipline and close the probe on May 13, records show.
Bryant, who declined to comment, could appeal his 25-day suspension to an arbitrator. Bryant earns $115,158 annually, according to the cityโs database.
Bryant is assigned to the CPD unit designated to patrol public transit, according to a statement from a CPD spokesperson.
The incident began just before 7 p.m. on Aug. 7, 2019, when officers monitoring police cameras observed an individual with what they believed to be a handgun, according to COPAโs report. The teen was not identified by COPA, in keeping with its rules.
When Bryant arrived on the scene, he pointed his weapon at a group of Black men and pursued the teen officers suspected of having a gun, according to COPAโs report.
After the teen surrendered after a brief foot chase, Bryant used his fist to strike the teen in the head while detaining him, while using profanity, according to COPAโs report.
Once the teen was in handcuffs, Bryant left the area to search for his department-issued baton, as a crowd gathered and began objecting to his actions, according to COPAโs report. It is not clear from COPAโs probe how Bryant became separated from his baton.
โOfficer Bryant approaches a black male holding a cell phone, the male asks Officer Bryant a question, and Officer Bryant responds, โf------ jag off with a gun, f--- you,โโ according to COPAโs report. โOfficer Bryant proceeds to push the cell phone out of his face. Officer Bryant walks off from the male, and the male follows him. The male asks Officer Bryant for his badge number and responds, โget that camera out my face, boy.โโ
Calling an adult Black man โboyโ is considered a racial slur, used before and after the Civil War, as a way to remind Black men they were not considered the equal of White men. In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed that the use of the word could serve as evidence of racist intent and discrimination.
Bryant told officers he did not punch the teen, despite video captured by officersโ body-worn cameras showing him strike the teen with a closed hand, according to COPAโs probe.
When Bryant struck him, there was no evidence that the teen was actively resisting arrest or posed a threat to officers, COPA concluded, finding Bryant used excessive force in violation of department policy.
However, Snelling concluded Bryant would have been justified in striking the teen either with a closed fist or an open hand because he could have reasonably believed the teen was attempting to reach the gun police suspected he had in his waistband, according to his response to COPA.
Snelling also said Bryant should not be disciplined for pointing his gun at the group of men in the courtyard, which COPA found to be in violation of departmental policy.
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