Teenagers Charged With Hate Crime for Live Streamed Beating

Teenagers Charged With Hate Crime for Live Streamed Beating
A frame in which a man (R) is assaulted in Chicago.(Vidme via AP)
The Associated Press
1/5/2017
Updated:
1/5/2017

The investigation began Monday after officers found a man “in distress” and “in crisis” walking on a street on the West Side, Capt. Steven Sasso said.

The man was taken to a hospital, and it was later discovered that he had been reported missing from an unidentified suburb.

At about the same time, police took several people into custody at a nearby address where they found signs of a struggle and property damage. Investigators determined that the missing man had been at the same address.

Cook County prosecutors identified the suspects as Jordan Hill of suburban Carpentersville, Brittany Covington of Chicago and Tesfaye Cooper of Chicago, all 18. A fourth suspect was identified as 24-year-old Tanishia Covington, also of Chicago.

The video emerged at a time when police dealings with Chicago’s black community are being closely watched. Less than a year ago, the nation’s third-largest police force was sharply criticized by a task force for using excessive force and honoring a code of silence.

The department has also been the subject of a long civil-rights investigation by the Justice Department, which is expected to report its findings soon.