Updated: Reverend Intends to File Federal Suit Against Glencoe Police

Update Saturday, July 14. 

Reverend Dr. Michael James reports to Winnetka-Glencoe Patch he will be meeting with the Glencoe Public Safety Department along with NAACP Evanston Branch President George Mitchell on Monday, July 16 to discuss the citation he received and allegations of racial profiling.  Patch will follow developments of this case as they become available.  

Previous Article from July 9. 

The Reverend Dr. Michael James has taken steps to file a federal lawsuit against the for.

James, who is black, said he contacted the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and has been told they will start a case file for him.

“NAACP representatives will be coming with me to a meeting with the Glencoe Police; they will be reaching out to the police to set a date hopefully on Monday, July 16” James said.

In an interview Sunday with Winnetka-Glencoe Patch, James said the press conference he held Saturday outside of the Glencoe Public Safety Department will help him work toward accomplishing his goals in this case.

“I want the Glencoe Police to undergo cultural sensitivity training. I want for the department to be agreeable to us going back up to 10 years to make sure others haven’t been racially profiled by this department, and if so, it is prevented in the future” James said.

James said television news crews that attended the press conference went to the site of his citation in a construction area on Sheridan Road, where bicycle traffic is currently prohibited.

“I was told there were bikers coming through there, and there were no police in the vicinity,” James.

When asked about , James said, “We are going to put the burden of proof on them to show whether those tickets were given to all blacks, all whites, or what.”

is that other white bicyclists rode by as he was receiving his citation, and were not approached by Lieutenant Betsy Seno, who stopped him.

“It sounds like if a police person is there and you are black, you’re going to get a ticket,” James said.

, she indicated she did not recall other bicyclists riding by because she was focused on James and writing his citation.

“I am going to go through this to the fullest; three black men from my church have contacted me and said they were also profiled in Glencoe,” James said.  

“This police force needs some special development, and if they have already done it, it’s not working,” he said.

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