An investigation is underway after video taken outside Chicago's Brickyard Mall over the weekend showed police swarming a vehicle and smashing windows before taking a woman to the ground.
Police say the incident happened around 3 p.m. Sunday in the 2700 block of North Narragansett. There, Mia Wright was taken into custody and charged with disorderly conduct.
"I was being pulled out of my car by my hair," Wright said. "The officer grabbed me by the top of my bun, and I felt him yank me right out of the vehicle, and they pushed me to the ground."
According to authorities, Wright was "observed by responding officers assembled with three or more persons for the purpose of using force or violence to disturb the peace."
Video taken from the scene of the arrest shows nearly a dozen officers using batons to smash the windows of a red vehicle they had surrounded.
A woman is removed from the vehicle and immediately placed on the ground as witnesses shout at responding officers.
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According to a relative, the women were in the vehicle to get food from the mall when they learned it was closed.
"My cousins pulled over for Chicago police at brickyard yesterday at 1 pm and police bust the windows out, pulled one out by her hair. Glass got in her eyes. Police took one of my cousins and took the car. They left her mother and my other cousin - the driver - in the lot," Adrienne Gibbs wrote on Twitter.
"They went to grab food, and discovered the mall was closed. That's not a crime," she later added.
Chicago's Civilian Office of Police Accountability said an investigation was opened into the incident after the department received a complaint. The investigation will aim to determine "if the actions of involved officers are within department policy."
"We encourage anyone with information to contact our office," COPA said in a statement.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday she has seen the video.
"When we see potential allegations of misconduct it gets referred to COPA for an immediate investigation," Lightfoot said.
"We don't tolerate misconduct. Period. It's just as simple as that," she later added.
Chicago Police Supt. Brown echoed those comments, commending officers for their professionalism over the weekend, but noting that "it hasn't been perfect."
"Where we have reports of misconduct, our officers crossing the line, we are firm," he said. "We are firm in ensuring those cases are looked at and if necessary a discipline is given out. We will not tolerate- zero tolerance for officers crossing the line and violating someone's rights or using excessive force or violating our use of force policy."
Jim Smith, the man who shot the video, says that he's still trying to wrap his head around the incident.
"I watch the video at least two or three times a day," he said. "It's disheartening the way a car full of women were handled."
The mall had the scene of looting and vandalism during a weekend of unrest that saw hundreds of arrests, a curfew put in place and several businesses damaged.
Chicago police said in a statement it "strives to treat all individuals our officers encounter with respect."
"Anyone who feels they have been mistreated by a CPD officer is encouraged to call 311 and file a complaint with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, who will investigate allegations of misconduct. Misconduct on the part of our officers will not be tolerated," the department said.
In the meantime, there is one thing that Wright is looking for after the video went viral.
"Justice," she said.
