Over the weekend, we received numerous reports from readers of a clash between riders in Friday's Critical Mass ride and Chicago Police officers. The clash took place at the end of the ride near Grant Park where police were on duty for the annual Taste of Chicago event. According to eyewitnesses, the mass had reached the end of its route when it turned on to Lakeshore Drive where they met up with police. A confrontation occurred between a rider and an officer which resulted in the officers using force to arrest the rider. It's still unclear what the original provocation was for the first incident, though some witnesses have said the rider may have been kicking over traffic cones. Things escalated when another biker tried to film the police subduing the first rider, which is technically illegal when done without consent in Illinois and 11 other states. Police then subdued the second rider. An eyewitness named Anne wrote in, saying, "A police officer was spraying pedestrians and cyclists with pepper spray," a claim backed up by another rider involved. Another eyewitness, Blair, told us via email: more ›

A nurse at Illinois Masonic has filed a lawsuit against a police officer and the city of Chicago claiming the officer arrested her when she didn't collect a blood sample from a suspected drunken driver, according to Chicago Breaking News. The lawsuit states a city police officer named Rodriguez asked Lisa Hofstra, the head nurse in charge of the emergency room the morning of August 1st, to take a blood sample from a man to determine his blood-alcohol level. Apparently Hofstra asked Rodriguez to wait until she could consult with her supervisor because it was against hospital protocol to take a blood sample from someone who was not admitted as a patient. Before the supervisor could respond, the officer cuffed Hofstra and put her in the back of a squad car for about 45 minutes before she was released from custody. more ›

Despite an order from U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez, Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis will not release a list of officers who have had five or more citizen complaints filed against them since 2000. Judge Valdez made the order due to a current lawsuit against the city accusing a police officer of using excessive force and making a false arrest. more ›