My name is Yunek Moore. I am a Black woman, a college graduate, and a survivor of police brutality. I’m choosing to tell my story because, sadly, this wasn’t the last time something like this happened to a person of color in Peoria, Illinois, and that must change.
On June 4, 2013, I was a happy 17-year-old looking forward to attending college at Millikin University. I had just graduated high school, where I was ranked 11th in my entire class and spoke at graduation as one of my final duties as Senior Class President.
That night, I was at my friend Cipriana’s house, where family and friends had gathered to celebrate our graduation and Cipriana’s departure for Army basic training. We were having a bonfire in the backyard, eating s’mores and drinking Capri Suns.
As I sat in a lawn chair, a bright light suddenly shone in my eyes. I thought someone at the party was using their phone’s flashlight or had turned on the backyard light, so I put my hand up to shield my eyes and politely asked them to stop pointing it at me. The person ignored my request and asked for my ID. Confused and still unable to see anything, I asked the person why she wanted to see my ID card. She never answered or stated who she was.
Instead, I was yanked out of my chair by what turned out to be three police officers, two men and one woman.
The officers grabbed me by the wrists and twisted my arms, then dragged me to the front yard and slammed me up against the brick house. I thought they were going to break my arm and I told them they were hurting me. The male officer responded, “Shut the hell up!”
I was handcuffed, then dragged across the concrete driveway, thrown onto the hood of the squad car, and searched. As my friends came up to ask why this was happening, the officers screamed at them, “Get back!”
The officers shoved me into the back of the squad car, punching and pushing my body. I gasped in pain as I sat awkwardly in the back seat, scared and stunned that this was happening. Not once did anyone tell me why I was being arrested or what I had done wrong.
At this point, my right shoulder was in excruciating pain, my right knee was swollen, and I had swelling and cuts on both my wrists. I was taken to the Peoria County Jail, where I asked for medical attention, but was denied. I was held until 5:30 a.m. the next day, when they finally let my mother pick me up.
Later, I learned I had a torn labrum in my shoulder and an incapacitated wrist, which — combined — required three surgeries, steroid injections, and physical therapy over the next several years. My entire right side was immobilized and one doctor said that my injuries looked like what football players might have after years of being tackled.
Beyond my physical injuries, this experience has taken a huge toll on me mentally. I’m now fearful of the police, and I constantly worry that something like this could happen to me again.
There was nothing illegal happening at the party. Yet I was arrested and cited for “resisting or obstructing a peace officer.” The officers said they entered the backyard out of concern for the safety of those at the party, but the only danger anyone faced that night was at the hands of the Peoria Police Department.
These past six years, my family and I have witnessed how little accountability there is for police officers in Peoria. Without accountability, the unnecessary and excessive use of force I experienced will continue to happen to others.
Our city is no stranger to the kinds of headlines about fatal police interactions that we see across the country. We all know the tragic story of Eddie Russell Jr., who was shot 17 times by the Peoria Police Department despite their knowledge of his history of mental health crises.
It’s time we fight for justice for our fellow community members and demand real reform in the Peoria Police Department.
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Press ReleaseDec 2024
Prisoners' Rights
Criminal Law Reform
ACLU Sues Bureau of Prisons for Keeping People in Prison Longer Than the Law AllowsACLU Sues Bureau of Prisons for Keeping People in Prison Longer Than the Law Allows
WASHINGTON – A federal lawsuit brought today by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of D.C., and Jenner & Block LLP challenges the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for unlawfully incarcerating people longer than the law allows under the First Step Act. The lawsuit contends that the BOP’s failure to implement the First Step Act according to its plain language violates the rights of thousands of people who should be returning to their communities and rebuilding their lives but instead remain incarcerated. Signed into law in 2018 by then-President Donald Trump, the bipartisan First Step Act was designed to reduce the population in federal prisons, reform extreme sentencing laws, and provide programming and reentry transition services to people in prison. Central to the First Step Act is a system of earned time credits, which allows people in prison to earn time off their sentences and time out of prison by participating in rehabilitation programs. Through the First Step Act, Congress unambiguously ordered BOP to move people out of prison when they meet certain requirements to use their earned time credits. Instead of faithfully following the mandatory law, BOP adopted a regulation treating the law as optional. As a result, thousands of people, who should already be back in their communities and with their families, remain in prison. “Every extra unlawful day our clients spend in prison is a serious injustice,” said Emma Andersson, deputy director of the Criminal Law Reform Project at the ACLU. “It is egregious that the Bureau of Prisons is imprisoning people for months longer than the law allows. The government must follow through on its legal obligation to get people out of prison on time and back into their communities, where they belong.” Additional comments below from: Vanessa Crowe, plaintiff: “Time is what I owed for my wrongdoing, and I have paid my time. But I should not have to spend more time in prison than the law allows. I often reflect on what I will miss during the months after when I should be out of prison. I will miss work and lose out on wages that would help me get back on my feet. I could be a tax paying citizen instead of a burden on society. But most of all, I will miss more precious time with my family. My family and I are ready to tum the page on this period in our lives — we are all ready to start a new life, a life with purpose, hope, and healing together. I want to start that life when I am legally entitled to start it-not five months later.” Arthur Spitzer, senior counsel at ACLU of D.C.: “There’s no excuse for the Bureau of Prisons to pretend not to understand Congress’s clear command that people who have earned the right to early release must be released. This law has been on the books for six years. The Bureau of Prisons has had plenty of time to understand it. Law enforcers should obey the law.” Betsy Henthorne, partner at Jenner & Block: “It has been six years since the First Step Act was signed, but despite Congress’s clear directives, the Bureau of Prisons continues to hold thousands of people in prison longer than the law allows. We should and do expect better—it’s past time for the BOP to ensure that those who have earned their release are able to return home to their families and communities according to the law Congress passed.” -
Maryland Supreme CourtDec 2024
Criminal Law Reform
Roland Branch v. State of MarylandRoland Branch v. State of Maryland
This petition to the Supreme Court of Maryland asked the court to reconsider its adherence to Whren v. U.S., 517 U.S. 806 (1996), which declared that a traffic stop undertaken for pretextual reasons does not violate the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution so long as the police have probable cause to believe that a traffic violation occurred. The ACLU, alongside the ACLU of Maryland, filed an amicus brief in support of the defendant’s petition, in which the ACLU argued that the court should take up the question of whether pretextual stops violate the Maryland Constitution. In September 2024, the Court denied the petition. -
North Carolina Supreme CourtDec 2024
Criminal Law Reform
State v. WrightState v. Wright
This case in the North Carolina Supreme Court involves the question of whether the police violated the U.S. Constitution when they searched the defendant, Mr. Wright’s, backpack even after he repeatedly said no to the search requests. The ACLU alongside the ACLU of North Carolina filed an amicus brief arguing that the search was unconstitutional because Mr. Wright’s eventual “consent” was the result of police coercion. Our brief urges the court to consider the totality of the circumstances that make one more susceptible to coercion, including race and poverty. -
News & CommentaryDec 2024
Criminal Law Reform
Disability Rights
Incarceration Should Not be a Death Sentence for Individuals Who Use OpioidsIncarceration Should Not be a Death Sentence for Individuals Who Use Opioids
New litigation centered on increasing access to substance-use disorder treatment in jails and prisons is helping to reduce mortality rates among incarcerated individuals.