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Embattled Police Superintendent Jody Weis just can't catch a break. On Friday, Cook County Circuit Judge William Maki upheld the Chicago Police Board's decision to suspend Officer William Cozzi instead of firing him for the 2005 beating of a wheelchaired man was the correct one. The incident took place in August of 2005 at at Norwegian American Hospital in Humboldt Park. Video of the beating shows then-60-year-old Randle Miles handcuffed and shackled to a wheelchair while Cozzi hit him ten times. Miles had been stabbed by a woman earlier in the day and rather than seeking treatment had "downed a bottle of gin" instead. At the insistence of friends, he finally sought treatment at the hospital where he became "agitated" and "abusive," causing hospital staff to summon Cozzi. Miles was charged with resisting arrest, despite video evidence to the contrary, and the charges were later dropped.
Cozzi was issued a two-year, unpaid suspension for the attack and in November, the Chicago Police Department appealed the suspension and asked to have Cozzi fired. Meanwhile, when the case was brought to the attention of Supt. Weis, he sent the case to the FBI (Weis's old stomping ground) for possible federal prosecution which the Federal Order of Police is contesting on grounds of double jeopardy; Cozzi previously plead guilty in Cook County criminal court to charges of misdemeanor battery and was sentenced to 18 months probation. His return to the force, which was to happen in the spring, has been on hold due to the federal case against him. [S-T]
Photo by Triborough
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I don't know what video you (or Weis's lackies) were watching. It sound like a good one.
However, I prefer reality. And the video that I saw certainly did NOT show Cozzi hitting Mr. Miles "ten times."
Mr. Miles acted in a belligerent manner. Then Cozzi committed his offense. Then Cozzi suffered for that offense for the past few years. He's suffered enough.
Ward - take it up with CBS 2. And the Sun-Times. And the AP. All those outlets report Cozzi hitting Miles "about 10 times."
You are right. It is not Chicagoists mistake (no sarcasm).
It's the mistake of someglasses-needing reporter who can't count to ten...or who swallowed the tale told by witch-hunting "reformers" on 35th Street.
Here is the video - thank god it was caught on tape so the 60 year old victim could show the three cops watching the fourth cop beat the crap out of him. Don't forget that the 60 year old guy who had been stabbed was handcuffed to the wheel chair and couldn't even defend himself...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq-lNcCH5gA
So at about second 12 of the clip Cozzi hits him three times.
At about second 17 Cozzi hits the old guy once
At second 19 of the clip Cozzi hits the old guy 3 more times.
At second 23 Cozzi hits the old guy again.
At about second 27 as they walk towards the door - Cozzi hits the old guy another time
At about second 30 as they walk through the doorway Cozzi hits the old guy again.
Of course we don't have footage of what happened outside the room.
Again all I can say is thank god for security cameras... If it were not for them, Cozzi would have gotten away with claiming this 60 year old man who had been stabbed who was handcuffed to the wheelchair was "resisting arrest" (which he was actually charged with until they found the tape- which by the way cost the city $125,000.....
So $125,000 - thats what two cops for an entire year we can't pay for because this clown is allowed to be a cop?
How much will we have to pay out next time he does something like this and the victim can prove this guy had a history of violence and the CPD did nothing about it.....
C'mon guys,
In Ward's defense punching an old stabbing victim who's cuffed to a wheelchair's probably a legitimate fetish in some country.........
Cops are bad. Stick it to "the Man." Go, commenters, go.
Ward, cops aren't all bad, but a cop who punches a man who is cuffed and shackled to a wheelchair is a bad cop, you have to admit. A cop who does it ten times (I watched the video and counted) is really a bad cop.
Hey Ward - what video did you watch that shows that the victim was belligerant and that the cop did not him him 10 times?
Just wondering if you made that part up or someone is putting out another version. You can clearly see the cop hitting him in the YouTube copy....
I guess I wonder which "reality" you prefer - because the video I saw clearly shows the beating...
Anthony Abbate finally got some good news. His should be back on the job by the weekend.