Black Grad Student Arrested for ‘Stealing’ His Own Car Awarded $1.25M

Lawrence Crosby, who was a Northwestern University doctoral engineering student when he was pulled over in 2015 for allegedly stealing his own car, has reportedly reached a settlement with the city of Evanston, Illinois, for $1.25 million, according to the Grio.

Crosby sued the city and the four officers who used excessive force during the arrest. Police were responding to a 911 caller who reported seeing a Black man who appeared to be stealing a car.

“Yeah. I don’t know if I’m like racial profiling … I feel bad,” said the 911 caller.

“Did you see him jimmy the door open or do anything?” asked the dispatcher, to which the caller replied, “He had a bar in his hand, and it looked like he was jimmying the door open.”

Officers pulled over Crosby, who stepped out of the vehicle with his hands up. Still, cops approached him with guns drawn, shouting at him. He was tackled to the ground while trying to explain he owned the car and had the paperwork to prove it. Crosby was attempting a repair on his car when 911 received the call in question.

Four officers were named in Crosby’s suit: Sean O’Brien, Brian Hicks, Anthony Correa and Ivan Reza. Correa can be seen on video striking Crosby at least seven times, according to Tim Touhy, Crosby’s attorney.

Skip to the 2:30 mark to hear the 911 call and the 9:00 mark to see the arrest.