police misconduct

August 25, 2023

Chicago Police Officer Charged for Sex Crimes Against Against Minors

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

A 30-year-old Chicago police officer is facing charges that he sexually abused minors. In March, the officer was charged with aggravated sexual abuse of a minor. The Sheriff’s Department later uncovered evidence from his cell phone that he sexually abused other minors and recorded the abuse on his cell phone. The officer met his victims while working in his official capacity as a police officer in Cook County. He has since been charged with aggravated sexual abuse, two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, and manufacturing child pornography. Investigators say that he invited the minors to spend the night at his home.

Aggravated Sexual Abuse

Illinois employs severe penalties for those who are convicted of sexual assault. Defendants face years in prison when convicted of sex crimes in Illinois. Judges are never authorized to grant probation in these cases. Prison time is required by law. In these cases, a defendant will serve a minimum of four years on the least aggressive charges filed against them. All defendants are required to register as sex offenders.

June 23, 2023

Police Seargent Found Not Guilty After Pinning Teen to Sidewalk

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

In an incident that was reminiscent of the murder of George Floyd, a Chicago police sergeant was charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct after pinning a 14-year-old boy to the sidewalk while off duty. During a bench trial, the sergeant was found not guilty of the charges, although he remains on leave after having his police duties stripped. The family says they plan on filing a civil lawsuit in the case.

A viral video of the incident made its way across social media, stoking animosity toward the sergeant and police in general. The sergeant could be seen with his knee on the boy’s back. The boy was face down, lying on the ground.

According to reports, the officer believed that his son’s stolen bicycle was spotted near a Starbucks. The officer found the bicycle near a group of teens and waited to see if anyone would take it. The 14-year-old touched the bicycle to move it, and that is when the officer confronted him. The officer grabbed the teen, placed him in an arm bar, and pushed him to the ground. Then he placed his knee on the teen’s back.

March 17, 2023

Tyre Nichols’s Death Prompts Investigations

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

More than a dozen police and firefighters from the Memphis, TN, police department are under investigation after the death of a 29-year-old man. It is not entirely clear what happened, but Nichols attempted to break away from the police officers, and they simply beat him to death. Ultimately, it sounded like the man had a panic attack, and the police killed him because he was not following instructions. The incident has resulted in second-degree murder charges filed against the officers, and now, several more are under investigation for the cover-up that occurred afterward.

We say a “few bad apples” without actually completing the thought. A few bad apples literally spoil the bunch. In this case, maybe one or two guys initiate violence against an unarmed man, killing him, but they’re so void of emotional control that they do not realize it was bad until after the man is on his way to the grave. They have left bodycam footage and evidence trail a mile wide. But they are not dead yet. They still control the information. So, they beg other officers to intervene on their behalf, and now those guys are out of a job, facing criminal charges, and will never work in law enforcement again.

The law makes it clear that you are an accessory after the fact (to murder) by engaging in the cover-up. Now, none of these officers were charged as accessories, but once a defense attorney catches wind that a government official has committed official misconduct, that parcel of information will make it into every case in which they are involved. Prosecutors will not be able to use their testimony in court. They are functionally useless to the law.

March 10, 2023

Officer Facing Charges After Punching 17-Year-Old Boy

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

One officer is facing charges after several officers allegedly assaulted a 17-year-old boy during an arrest. Essentially, one officer was caught punching the boy repeatedly while the boy was on the ground, and the other officers were caught standing nearby and watching. While the officer who threw the punch is facing charges of aggravated assault and official misconduct, the officers who stood by and watched are not. Nor are they facing disciplinary action.

It is not clear that the bystander police officers could be held responsible for a crime in this instance. Which then got me thinking, what happened to the other two officers in the George Floyd case? The answer: They went to prison. So, let’s analyze that case (which was filed under Wisconsin law), and maybe we can figure out if these officers could be charged with the same thing.

George Floyd Analysis

February 8, 2023

Police Officer Resigns After Shooting Police Officer

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

A police officer has resigned amid criminal charges that set off a battle between two Indiana police departments, each with their own version of what happened. According to the now-resigned officer, he was checking on an abandoned vehicle when another vehicle approached him. Believing that this vehicle had nearly struck him intentionally, the officer opened fire on the car. Inside was an off-duty police officer headed home. The off-duty police officer insists he did nothing wrong.

The victim has called the officer who stopped him “a danger to society” and stated that “he doesn’t deserve to wear a badge.” The officer is a 13-year veteran of the force who was cuffed and taken into custody after the other officer shot up his personal vehicle.

Anyone Can Become the Victim of Police Violence

October 14, 2022

Chicago Police Officers Face Charges Related to Shooting of Unarmed Man

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Two Chicago police officers have been charged after an on-duty shooting of an unarmed man, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office. Charges were filed after video surveillance contradicted statements made by the police officers concerning the incident. The two officers now face charges of aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm, and official misconduct. Each of these is a felony with a potential sentence of up to 30 years. The two have been relieved of duty.

The victim did not have a weapon, nor did he fire a weapon when police officers shot at him. He has since filed a lawsuit against the Chicago police. The man was shot twice in the back and once in the leg. His attorney says that he was not a threat to police officers when he was shot.

The situation was made worse after the victim was brought to the hospital for treatment. At the hospital, the victim was pulled away to answer questions. He was later released without charges and sent back to the hospital. He was still in pain and bleeding when he was he was being questioned.

October 5, 2022

CPD Officer Facing Sexual Assault Charges for Incident with Transgender Citizen

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

A federal grand jury has indicted a Chicago police officer on charges of illegally detaining a trans woman and forcing her to perform sexual services against the threat of going to jail. The officer was a 29-year veteran with the force when he resigned in 2019. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He also faced a civil complaint filed by the victim. The complaint was settled in 2020, but little is known about the details of the settlement.

The same officer was accused in another complaint of sexual misconduct after demanding that a woman he had just pulled over follow him to an alley, where he proceeded to masturbate. That lawsuit was settled in 2019. Now, the officer is facing criminal charges related to sexual misconduct under the color of law. As of 2019, the officer had faced 44 complaints. The officer has been charged with deprivation of rights under color of law, a federal crime that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Since the allegations include sexual abuse, kidnapping, wrongful imprisonment, extortion, and whatever else, prosecutors will be looking to place the officer behind bars for as long as they possibly can.

Analyzing the charges

September 21, 2022

Police Shooting Leads to Charges Against Two CPD Officers

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

A recent shooting by two Chicago police officers has resulted in charges being filed and a judge’s order to prevent the withholding of a video that captured the event. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability announced plans to release the video to the public. The police union, which is defending the officers, filed a motion to suppress the video, which they say unfairly biases the public against the officers.

Authorities now believe that the two officers lied about being fired on first and actually were the first to shoot. The police claim that the video only shows half of what happened and fails to show a 17-year-old boy in a “two-point stance” holding a gun. No charges have yet been filed against a 17-year-old who was on the scene at the time of the shooting. Another man was hit and critically wounded, but it is unclear if the bullets came from police or the civilian.

COPA says the video was edited to protect the privacy of the minor. It remains unclear if the video shows the minor in a two-point stance holding a weapon and firing on police officers or not. However, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx has stated that the officers lied about being fired on first. Superintendent David Brown concurred with Foxx’s findings that there was no exchange of gunfire prior to the officers opening fire on the suspects. At that point, the 17-year-old did pull a gun on the officers and returned fire. Both officers have been stripped of police duties and are now facing charges for the shooting.

July 6, 2022

Family Calls for Charges After Officer Pinned Boy to the Pavement

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

An off-duty police officer accused a teen of stealing his son’s bike. The teen believes he was profiled only because he was Black. The ensuing altercation was caught on video and the family is calling for the DA to press charges. In the video, the officer can be seen pressing his knee into the teen’s back in a scene eerily reminiscent of the George Floyd incident.

The teen’s friends intervened on his behalf as the officer accused the teen of stealing his son’s bike. The teen appears to be the only person with brown skin in the area at the time, according to the family. The officer works for Chicago P.D. but the incident happened in another jurisdiction, Park Ridge. The incident is being investigated by both Chicago and Park Ridge P.D. There has yet to be an announcement whether criminal charges against the officer will be pursued.

It is completely unclear why the officer thought the boy had stolen his son’s bike, if the bike looked like a previously stolen bike, or what was going on in the officer’s mind at the time he chose to detain the boy while off-duty. What is clear is that the officer conducted no investigation, did not ask the boy any questions, and did not have the authority to pursue the matter without more information.

June 29, 2022

Chicago Officer Charged Over Altercation With Woman

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

A white Chicago officer has been officially charged after an altercation with a Black woman who was walking her dog. The defendant has since resigned from the police force and has been charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct. The 52-year-old officer resigned prior to an official disciplinary hearing.

The altercation ensued when the officer found a woman walking her dog along the beach. The officer detained the woman and told her the beach was closed. The woman said she felt threatened and asked the officer to step back. At that point, the officer grabbed the woman. The incident was not only caught on bodycam but a bystander recorded much of the altercation.

The victim told the press that she believed the incident was racially motivated. She also said that she did not believe that all cops were bad people, but this particular cop was a bad apple. As a criminal defense attorney, you wish that people remembered the entirety of the cliche. A few bad apples can spoil the bunch.