Rahm Aide Attacked By Man Who Said 'Police Are Killing Us'

By Emma G. Gallegos in News on Dec 29, 2015 5:44PM

An aide for the mayor was attacked Sunday night while attending a vigil for Quintonio LeGrier, the 19-year-old who was fatally shot along with his neighbor by police this weekend.

Vance Henry, 50, who was walking with Ald. Jason Ervin at the vigil, was punched, tackled and kicked by two people, police told the Tribune.

According to the police report, the assailant told Henry, "What are you doing here, you should be downtown doing something about this." He added, "the police are killing us." The man and another person with him left before returning and repeating his complaints. Henry told the man to "get out of his face," and that is when the situation escalated.

The man punched Henry in the face, then the second assailant tackled Henry. "The victim was hit with closed fists, tackled to the ground and kicked repeatedly," Chicago police told the New York Daily News. They also hurled anti-semitic remarks—perhaps aimed at Henry's boss, Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Ervin intervened and broke up the fight. Henry drove himself to the hospital to get treatment for minor injuries.

The Daily News notes that Henry recognized his assailant from a prior incident near City Hall. As of Monday evening, police didn't have anyone in custody, the Sun Times says.

Henry hasn't spoken out about the incident, but the Mayor's Office confirmed it. A statement from the office said, "We take this matter very seriously and the incident is under review."

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