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Oak Park police facing discrimination suit, accused of wrongful arrest

Posted at 6:20 PM, Jun 02, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-02 18:20:24-04

Oak Park police are now facing a federal discrimination lawsuit. It accuses an officer and the department of wrongfully arresting a young black man last year.

The alleged incident took place on May 31st, 2016.

The attorney for Domonique McCray released dash cam video to 7 Action News, claiming it shows the unlawful harassment and wrongful arrest.

He claims McCray was innocently walking down the street with a friend, holding a basketball and talking to his mother on the phone.

But officer Don Erik Dolan, who is white, claims he yelled derogatory names at officers as they walked by him on Oak Park Boulevard.

John Elliott claims officers thought the 24-year-old said, "F the Police."

Officer Nolan allegedly followed the guys, according to the lawsuit, calling for them to stop, but they continued walking.

More officers arrived on scene.

Documents state Dolan then drew his Taser, with McCray asking him not to shoot because of his heart condition.

There are several accusations coming from his attorney, but the video only shows a small section of this encounter.

He also alleges his client was knocked to the ground, roughed up, handcuffed and thrown in a squad car.

Elliott went on to make the accusation that Dolan said, "So if I shoot you, then you're going to die."

McCray was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, but those charges were dismissed a few months later in August of 2016.

They are seeking at least $1.2 million in damages.

We tried reaching out to Oak Park Police several different ways. We have not heard back yet.