Riverdale Police Department officers accused of beating handcuffed Abraham Carmichael during arrest: lawsuit

RIVERDALE, Ill. (WLS) – The video of this incident may be triggering for some.

South Suburban Police officers are accused of hitting a man several times with excessive force during an arrest.

The incident was captured on dashcam video, and the man who is now suing the Riverdale Police Department is speaking out.

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Abraham Carmichael said he will need multiple surgeries to recover from his injuries after his collision with two Riverdale police officers earlier this year.

The lawsuit filed against those officers and their department says Carmichael suffered “emotional anguish, fear, humiliation.”

Now he demands justice.

“I felt like a punching bag, like a UFC punching bag,” Carmichael said.

Police dashcam video from February of this year, obtained by Carmichael’s legal team, appears to show a Riverdale police officer punching Carmichael multiple times while Carmichael’s hands appear to remain behind his back.

“He just grabbed me and threw me against the car,” Carmichael said. “I felt something hit me in the nose and it probably knocked me out for a few seconds.”

Just moments earlier, Carmichael said he was taking his girlfriend’s car to have a friend repair it. He met a man he said he didn’t know and struck up a conversation. He then said two Riverdale police officers blocked the alley to arrest the man before quickly turning on Carmichael.

“I kept asking him what was wrong. ‘What did I do wrong?'” Carmichael said.

Carmichael’s legal team showed ABC7 Chicago the police report about the incident. It said the officers used force and defined it as a defensive tactic.

“I don’t know how you can defend yourself against a person whose hands are on the car,” Carmichael said.

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Carmichael said police called an ambulance and he was taken to the hospital.

The lawsuit against Riverdale police and the two officers says Carmichael suffered a broken nose and ribs and multiple bruises.

Carmichael said the day kept replaying in his head.

“I was afraid; they disturb my family. I have to take all these medications now. It’s unreal. It’s unreal,” Carmichael said. “I thought I was going to get killed.”

Carmichael said he thought he would be able to go home after receiving treatment at the hospital, but instead he was charged with resisting arrest and obstruction of justice. His lawyer said Carmichael initially pleaded not guilty but prosecutors later dropped the charges.

“If they do this to me, they did it to someone else. What are we waiting for? We have a ticking time bomb on the streets,” Carmichael said.

ABC7 Chicago is not naming any of the officers named in the lawsuit because they have not been accused of wrongdoing.

Neither Riverdale police nor the officers named in the lawsuit immediately responded to requests for comment.

The department also did not say whether disciplinary action was taken following Carmichael’s arrest.

“We have to do something about this situation because this will impact my children and the way I raise them,” Carmichael said.

Carmichael, a father of five, said he wants a world where his children can live free from fear. As he faces months of surgeries, consultations and recovery time, he hopes his story will do just that.

“I thank God because justice can try to come through,” Carmichael said.

Carmichael’s legal team said Carmichael spoke with the Riverdale police chief after the incident and was told the department did not believe the officers’ actions warranted discipline.