By Ashlee Rezin
A Chinese man once accused of
drug possession claims he was the subject of a conspiracy and is suing four
Chicago Police officers after charges against him were dropped.
Jun Guang Xie, who owns a
business in the 2400 block of South Archer Avenue, filed the false arrest
lawsuit in federal court Thursday, alleging Chicago Police violated the Civil
Rights Act and denied him his constitutional rights.
On Jan. 21, 2013, Xie — who is
unable to read, write or speak English — was told by his receptionist that a
delivery truck was at his business with a package to be delivered to a Tom Lee,
which had to be off loaded with a forklift, according to the lawsuit. The
receptionist said she could not reach Lee.
Xie drove his forklift out of
his business and was approached by two undercover police officers posing as
delivery men, the suit claims.
After one of the officers
handed Xie a piece of paper, which Xie signed, the officers drew their guns and
“violently pulled [Xie] off the forklift,” threw him to the ground and took him
into custody, the suit alleges.
Xie claims in the suit that he
did not resist the arrest.
Xie was charged with possession
of cannabis, “in the complete absence of any basis upon which to believe that
he knew what was contained in the box which was addressed to and intended for
delivery to Tom Lee,” according to the suit.
In August 2013, one of the
officers submitted a report that claimed Xie told the arresting officers he had
been paid to receive packages for Lee, the suit claims.
But the statement was false,
the suit alleges, because Xie speaks no English and the officers did not speak
Chinese.
During a hearing in April 2014,
one of the officers testified he spoke with Xie during the arrest, but an
official interpreter testified that he could not understand anything the
officer was purporting to say in Chinese, the suit alleges.
A Cook County Circuit Court
judge subsequently dismissed the charges, finding that police did not have
probable cause to arrest Xie, according to the suit.
The suit claims the officers’
actions amount to a conspiracy, alleging they falsified police reports,
initiated false criminal complaints and committed perjury in criminal
proceedings.
The six-count lawsuit also
claims false arrest, malicious prosecution, excessive force, intentional
infliction of emotional distress and deprivation of Civil Rights. Xie is
seeking an unspecified amount in damages.
The city has not yet been
served with the suit, said city Department of Law spokesman John Holden, who
declined to comment on it Friday evening.
