Disgraced Chicago Illinois Police Officer William Cozzi Indicted On Federal Charge After Beating Handcuffed Man In A Wheelchair With A Club - Caught On Video
CHICAGO, IL - A Chicago police officer was indicted this week on a federal charge of violating the civil rights of a man beaten while handcuffed to a wheelchair, an incident that was caught on videotape.
A federal grand jury indicted William Cozzi, 50, on one count of violating the man’s civil rights during an arrest at a Chicago hospital in August 2005, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Cozzi will be arraigned at a later date.
“Every citizen, regardless of being in police custody, has a constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by law enforcement officers,” U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement.
Cozzi pleaded guilty last year to misdemeanor battery in Cook County Circuit Court for the beating and was given 18 months’ probation and ordered to undergo anger management classes.
Cozzi, who worked in the Police Department’s Grand-Central District at the time of the beating, was suspended from the department for two years. The department filed an appeal in November in Cook County court to get Cozzi fired.
Supt. Jody Weis said in January that he was looking into the case to determine if more needed to be done. On Thursday, a spokeswoman for the department said Weis referred the case to the FBI and that Cozzi remains on unpaid leave from the department and “will not return to duty.”
The indictment stems from an incident involving Randle Miles, who was being treated for stab wounds at Norwegian American Hospital when he resisted being placed in the wheelchair, according to reports.
Cozzi, who had been dispatched to the hospital to speak with Miles, became enraged by his behavior, Cook County prosecutors said.
Cozzi placed the man in handcuffs and said, “Don’t move, or I’ll break your [expletive] wrists,” prosecutors said after Cozzi’s arrest. Cozzi hit the man 10 times with a small club in the face and torso, prosecutors said.
Miles sued and eventually won a $125,000 settlement from the city.
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Comment from robert smith
Time: May 12, 2008, 4:05 pm
Wow, who would have thunk it. A cop who beats people when they are handcuff. Never would have thought. I am sure this is his first time doing something like that. All they should do is fire him and let him get another job in another police force. I am sure city or miami or metro-dade police will hire him. He has a good track record that they need here.