Officer Found Guilty of Bribery, Official Misconduct

Police misconduct does not always include excessive use of force. At times, officers of the law use their power to better their own situation. The law does not look kindly to such abuses of power. If you have been subject to this type of civil rights violation, contact an experienced attorney at once.


Enacting Revenge on an Ex Girlfriend

A Westville, Illinois, police officer was found guilty on November 15th of committing bribery and official misconduct, according to The News Gazette. The officer in question was accused of encouraging other police officers to pull over his ex girlfriend. He included information about when she might be driving home from drinking at a restaurant. An officer who came forward to state police internal investigators agreed to wear a wire and perform a sting operation on the defendant. He went to dinner with the defendant and said that the ex girlfriend was ticketed, and in return the defendant paid for his steak dinner. He was arrested on his way out of the restaurant. While the defendant and his attorneys argued that giving information about when a person may be drinking and driving was just normal police behavior and that he never violated her civil rights by trying to have her pulled over and cited for something that she was not doing, prosecutors successfully argued that he had a vendetta with his ex girlfriend, and was simply abusing his power to enact revenge.

Bribery is a Class 2 Felony in Illinois

According to Criminal Code 720 ILCS of Illinois, bribery is acting “with intent to influence the performance of any act related to the employment or function of any public officer, public employee, juror or witness, he or she promises or tenders to that person any property or personal advantage which he or she is not authorized by law to accept. Bribery is a Class 2 felony in Illinois. Furthermore, the officer who came forward about the other officer’s attempts to bribe others in the department to pull his ex girlfriend over could have faced punishment as well for not reporting an attempt of bribery. According to Illinois law, “Any public officer, public employee or juror who fails to report [bribery] forthwith to the local State's Attorney, or in the case of a State employee to the Department of State Police,” commits a class A misdemeanor. After reporting an incident of bribery, an officer is discharged from any further duty in the matter.

Official Misconduct

In addition to bribery charges, the office faces punishment for official misconduct as well. He was found guilty of official misconduct for knowingly performing an act which he knew he was forbidden by law to perform, and by taking actions with an intent to obtain a personal advantage for himself.

Call a Chicago, Illinois, Civil Rights Violations Lawyer Today for Immediate Help

If you civil rights have been violated by a law enforcement officer, contact the Chicago civil rights attorneys of Barney and Hourihane today at 312-854-0906 for immediate assistance.