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Teen Beat Down by Police on Jaywalking Charge

A Cook County judge on Monday scheduled a hearing for later this month to determine whether the medical records of a Calumet City teen allegedly beaten by a police officer will be admissible in court. Don Pennington Jr. is next scheduled to appear before Associate Judge Michael Stuttley on Jan. 21 in the Markham courthouse. The teen was charged with two counts of battery against a Calumet City police officer after his Aug. 28 arrest for violating the city's jaywalking ordinance. While at the police station, the boy said he was beaten by an officer while at least three others watched. The accused officer said he was trying to restrain the teen, who attacked him. The Cook County State's Attorney's Office has been trying to gain access to the boy's medical records, a plea the boy's attorney said violates her client's privacy rights and has no bearing on the criminal case. "How does this have anything to do with jaywalking or whether he hit a cop?" attorney Juliet Boyd said. The records have nothing to do with the circumstances regarding the teen's arrest, or anything that happened at the police station, Boyd said. The boy's family has filed a civil lawsuit against the city and the Police Department. [more]