A bizarre and dangerous encounter in Englewood has landed a woman in legal trouble after she allegedly threatened to shoot her Uber driver and later claimed she was Oprah Winfrey, according to Chicago police and court records.
Incident in Englewood Escalates Quickly
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The incident happened late on June 13th in the 600 block of West 63rd Street. According to the Chicago Police Department, a rideshare driver called police after his passenger threatened to shoot him and allegedly flashed a weapon magazine during the altercation.
The woman then exited the vehicle and began walking south on Wentworth Avenue.
Suspect Identified and Arrested Nearby
Officers soon located 35-year-old Gabraell Griffin, who matched the driver’s description: a Black woman with voluminous hair dressed entirely in black. When officers stopped her, they allegedly found Griffin carrying a magazine filled with inert training ammunition.
Griffin refused to identify herself while being detained, telling officers her name was “Oprah,” according to the incident report.
Violence During Arrest and Multiple Charges Filed
According to reports, Griffin kicked one officer in the knee and another in the stomach. She has recently been charged with:
- Aggravated battery of a peace officer
- Battery
- Aggravated assault
- Obstructing identification
Judge Orders Electronic Monitoring
Griffin appeared in bond court, where Judge James Murphy III ordered her to be electronically monitored and subjected to a court-imposed curfew.
Despite the lack of information about a mental health evaluation, her behavior during the arrest has raised concerns.