Posted on 03/24/2007 9:47:23 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
Attorney Also Says Uniformed Officers Left When Off-Duty Officers Waved Them Away
(CBS) CHICAGO -- An attorney is claiming that six off-duty Chicago Police officers brutally beat four men in a bar a few months ago, leaving them so injured that they are still undergoing medical treatment.
The claims come less than a week after another officer was charged in a similar incident.
Brothers Aaron and Barry Gilfand, and their friends Scott Lowrance and Adam Mastrucci were playing pool when half a dozen police officers allegedly attacked them, attorney Sally Saltzberg said.
“The one who got beaten in the vestibule, his face had to be reconstructed,” Saltzberg said. “He had his whole nose rebuilt, he had to undergo surgery. His brother has four broken ribs.”
Saltzberg, who represents all four victims, said that like the more recent attack, the one against her clients was also caught on tape, and that the tape is in the custody of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office. It has not been released.
The attack allegedly occurred at the Jefferson Tap and Grille, at 325 N. Jefferson St., just before closing at 2 a.m. last December, Saltzberg said. When other bar patrons called 911, uniformed police officers came to the scene, but left after being waved off by the officers who allegedly attacked the patrons, she said.
“There's not just six officers involved,” Saltzberg added. “There are six officers who beat my clients. There's an additional nine officers who responded to the scene and went away. We want the names of all of them.”
Chicago Police News Affairs Director Monique Bond said the incident is under investigation by both police and the state's attorney's office, and had no further comment Saturday.
The patrons were all businessmen – two of them traders at the Chicago Board of Trade, the other two a restaurant manager and private investor.
While standing at a pool table, Aaron Gilfand was first approached by a man who said something he did not hear, then he was grabbed and thrown to the floor, Saltzberg alleged. She claimed Lowrance was knocked unconscious immediately, while Barry Gilfand was dragged to the sidewalk and beaten there.
After the attack, Saltzberg said, the victims were told not to return.
“Somebody identifying himself as the owner of the bar came out and said, ‘You can't come in here. You can't come in here,’” Saltzberg said. “Those were Chicago Police officers who beat you up. I'll lose my license. This is a cop bar.”
Saltzberg said she and her co-counsel filed a motion in state court within the last week to get a copy of the videotape. She has also filed a motion with a Cook County Court judge in an effort to get the names of the police officers involved.
The allegations surfaced less than a week after another officer, Anthony Abbate, was allegedly caught on tape beating a female bartender to the ground. That incident allegedly happened two months later than the alleged beating of the four businessmen.
“By leaving those officers, with their guns, on the street, getting their paychecks, it sends a message to the entire department, including guys like Abbate, [that] it's OK to beat up citizens,” Saltzberg said.
Abbate, 38, is a 12-year veteran of the Lincoln Police District on the North Side. He was charged with felony aggravated battery in the beating of Karolina Obrycka, 24, at Jesse's Shortstop Inn Tavern, at 5425 W. Belmont Ave. on Feb. 19.
Obrycka's attorney, Terry Ekl, said the bartender had refused to serve Abbate any more drinks, prompting the attack.
On Thursday, Ekl said Obrycka had first been offered money to keep quiet about her story by someone associated with Abbate.
Later, Ekl claimed, the owner of the bar was also told that if she did not keep quiet about her story, drugs would be planted in the bar and in Obrycka's vehicle, and that customers at the bar would be harassed.
Abbate has been released from custody after posting bond. Police have stripped him of his powers and are moving to have him terminated.
BUMP
"The police are there to preserve disorder"
Fixed the author's typo.
BUMP
Left out of the article is an important fact. According to this article:
"The Chicago Police Department made a unilateral decision that they were going to charge him only with a misdemeanor without telling the State's Attorney’s Office," said Ekl.They almost always protect their own.
So it wasn't a "Taste great, less filling" dispute?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.