The Chicago Police Department is opening an internal investigation following accusations that officers ignored a mob attacking a couple during the violent “teen takeover” this past weekend.

The couple, Ashley Knutson and her boyfriend, Devontae Garrison-Johnson, known as DJ, were robbed and assaulted Saturday night at Chicago. Police officers drove past the incident and, despite being notified, refused to stop, a witness to the incident reported. 

The couple was strolling downtown after shopping at the Chicago Loop when they encountered a chaotic gathering of young people on Wabash Avenue. “I said, DJ, I just got pushed,” Ms. Knutson told ABC 7.

In response, Mr. Garrison-Johnson turned around and told the assailants not to touch his girlfriend and to stop pushing her. “As soon as he said that, everything went crazy. They went crazy. Started jumping us, saying they were going to kill us,” Ms. Knutson added.

A video of the incident, which went viral, showed a group of young men beating up Ms. Knutson in a doorway as she screamed in desperation while they took her down to the ground. Sirens sound in the background of the video, which brought a second of relief to Ms. Knutson, she recalls.

“I actually saw a cop drive right by, and that’s when the kids stopped beating up DJ,” Ms. Knutson says. “But the cop didn’t stop, so as soon as it was out of eyesight, the kids started turning back and walking toward us.”

Mr. Garrison-Johnson cannot be seen in the video, as he was already on the ground when the recording started.

A woman who witnessed the attack, Lenora Dennis, said she saw several police cars speed through the street without stopping to acknowledge the incident. She then ran to the street to flag another officer but was unsuccessful.

“I tried to stop a police car; I literally got in front of a police car and put my hands up and was telling them, ‘Hey these people are getting assaulted,’” Ms. Dennis told ABC 7 Chicago. “And I thought that was enough, and the police just cut a path around me and kept going.”

A Chicago Police Department representative said on Wednesday that an internal investigation on the incident was opened, CWB Chicago reported. The police department did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment.

A retired Chicago Police Department lieutenant told ABC 7 Chicago that there were only “one or two officers in that car” and that policemen are told not to go into big crowds without support “because that’s how we end up with cars being flipped or set on fire or officers getting hurt.”

The Chicago Police Department released a statement on Tuesday saying the incident was filed as a “strong-arm robbery.” It adds the offenders “struck” the couple several times before taking their property and running away from the scene. It also states there is no one in custody and that detectives are investigating the incident. 

Ms. Dennis said that by the time Mr. Garrison-Johnson got up from the ground, his mouth and head were bleeding as a consequence of members of the group stomping his head against the concrete. She also said he couldn’t make eye contact with her, so she felt he might have been concussed. 

Ms. Dennis pushed the couple inside a department store to keep them safe and then drove them to the Central District police department. After the couple filed a police report, they went to the University of Illinois for treatment.

Crime in Chicago has increased by nearly 41 percent between 2021 and 2022, according to a report from the Chicago Police Department. There were about 700 homicides in 2022, a slight decrease from 2021, but thefts were up by almost 20 percent. 

“You fight or become another statistic in Chicago,” Mr. Garrison-Johnson said. 

The day after the assault Ms. Dennis shared an Instagram post in which she said that in her 45 years of living in Chicago, Saturday night’s attack was “one of the most disgusting, depressing, ridiculous displays I have ever witnessed.” She also said she felt like she was watching Chicago turn into complete “utter chaos” and that something must be done immediately. 

“Who knows what would have happened if it wasn’t for her,” Mr. Garrison-Johnson said. “God bless you, you’re an angel.”