CHICAGO (AP) — A white former Chicago police officer captured on video struggling with a Black woman who was walking her dog along a Lake Michigan beach pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of official misconduct and aggravated battery.
Bruce Dyker was released on his own recognizance by Cook County Judge William Gamboney.
Dyker, 52, had been on desk duty since shortly after the incident last summer, resigned from the Chicago Police Department in May before any formal disciplinary action was announced against him, a department spokesperson said. He had been a Chicago officer since 1998.
Videos shows Dyker grabbing Nikkita Brown shortly after midnight on Aug. 28, 2021, as she walked her French bulldog at North Avenue Beach.
Tim Grace, Dyker’s attorney, noted that Dyker was on-duty and giving a lawful order to leave the beach because it was closed at the time. Under police guidelines, Dyker would have been justified in doing much more to carry out an arrest — including an “emergency takedown” or a leg sweep — but chose not to, since he did not want to risk injuring the 33-year-old Brown, Grace said.
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