CHICAGO — A Chicago
Police officer was found guilty of aggravated battery and official misconduct
Thursday after he was caught on surveillance tape repeatedly striking a
19-year-old man whose hands were cuffed behind his back.
Before making his
ruling in the two-day trial, Circuit Judge Clayton Crane said the case was an
especially difficult one to rule on, given the poor quality of the surveillance
tape and having to rule on the limits of police force.
"That being
said, I have a video. There's no other explanation in the video," he said.
Sgt. Edward Howard
Jr., 49, showed no emotion after the ruling. He faces up to five years in
prison at his sentencing hearing scheduled next month.
Howard, a 25-year
veteran of the Chicago Police Department, slapped Gregory Jefferies across the
face multiple times during the 2010 incident, leaving behind cuts, bruises and
spattered blood, according to prosecutors.
The incident happened
when Howard responded to a disruption at King Gyro, 7904 S. Vincennes.
Jefferies, who had been detained by the time Howard arrived, had gotten into an
argument with restaurant employees.
Howard testified that
he was initially trying to calm the victim down.
"I told him,
'Stop acting a fool. Show some class. Show some respect,' " Howard said.
Prosecutors also
called to the stand Officer Jen Harris, a six-year veteran of the CPD, who
acknowledged in court that she was unhappy to be testifying.
Howard, who was
dressed in a black suit and blue tie, stood up, smiled and waved to Harris when
she was asked to identify him in court.
She told prosecutors
that Jefferies did not respond when she asked for his name and identification,
calling him "rude" and "ignorant."
In response,
Assistant State's Attorney Ankur Srivastava read in court Chicago Police
Department guidelines that stipulate a person is "not obliged to
answer" when stopped by the police.
Howard said the
victim asked why he had been handcuffed and began swearing. He claimed he then
heard Jefferies cough up phlegm, as if preparing to spit on him.
Jefferies testified
last week that the incident was unprovoked.
"I gave him an
open-hand strike to redirect his face," Howard said.
Assistant State's
Attorney Lauren Freeman showed surveillance footage in which Howard strikes
Jefferies across the face at least three times.
Freeman then
presented photographs of Jefferies shortly after the incident, which showed
bruises and swelling. She noted that Howard never submitted a report detailing
his use of force on Jefferies.
"You could have
walked away. Is that correct?" Freeman asked.
"No, ma'am. I'm
not paid to retreat. I'm paid to step forward, diffuse the situation and
protect the citizens of Chicago, as well as my fellow officers," said
Howard, who has been stripped of police duties pending an internal
investigation.
"What kind of
example was he setting for those young officers that night- that the answer for
disrespect is brute force?" Freeman said in her closing argument. "He
was showing them how to use their badges as an excuse to brutalize a young
kid."