Activist Who Helped Organized Taste Of Chicago 'Shut Down' Placed On House Arrest

By Stephen Gossett in News on Jul 13, 2016 3:20PM

Activist Ja'Mal Green faces Officer (Tyler LaRiviere/Chicagoist)

Activist Ja'Mal Green was released from jail on Tuesday night after being arrested on Saturday during a protest at Taste of Chicago that he helped organize. The demonstration protested the fatal police shootings of Philander Castile and Alton Sterling. Green is charged with five felonies, including one count of attempting to disarm an officer.

Family members and supporters raised $35,000, 10 percent of his $350,000 bond, to secure his release. Green's attorney, Jon Erickson, criticized the high amount, calling it "outrageous" and "punitive."

Video posted by Ayana Clark, identified as Green's girlfriend, shows Green, 20, standing on a police barricade, attempting to address the crowd of demonstrators. An officer reported to be George Deveraux, the executive officer of Area Central that day, first orders him to step down then appears to pull Green down by Green's left short leg.

A different video, published by the Chicago Reader on Tuesday, shows a another, clearer angle of the incident and aftermath. In it, Green seems agitated but does not appear to strike the officer.

A photo taken by a Tribune photographer, which appears to show Green with his hand stretched toward Deveraux, was cited by prosecutors in Green's bond hearing.

The altercation in which Green allegedly attempted to disarm an officer occurred later, according to police.

Tio Hardiman, of Violence Interrupters, was among those arguing for reduction in bond. "This young man is a standup individual in the community at a much-needed time in our history in the United States," Hardiman was quoted as saying in the Tribune. "The police cannot continue to get away with abusing our people."

Green was placed on house arrest, according to ABC 7.