Police Cleared of Racially Profiling Bobby Rush

Chicago congressman was stopped in August after confusion over his license plate

Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., said he accepted the apology of two Chicago police officers who were cleared of profiling him. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo).
Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., said he accepted the apology of two Chicago police officers who were cleared of profiling him. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo).
Posted February 10, 2017 at 9:04am

Two Chicago Police Department officers were cleared of allegations they profiled Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., last summer.

Rush had filed the complaint after a traffic stop in August 2016 after confusion over his license plates, ABC7 reported. At the time there had been a rash of car thefts in the part of Chicago in which he was stopped.

Rush filed a complaint with the Independent Police Review Authority shortly after the stop.

Rush said in a statement that he accepted the officers’ apology.

“It was never his intention to get the officers fired, he wanted to bring attention to the disparities in traffic stops,” Rush’s office said.

“With that said, he felt threatened as an African-American elder in the community, and filed the complaint to bring attention to what every citizens in his community experience with dubious traffic stops.”