Report: Officers Who Sodomized Man With Screwdriver Still Employed By CPD

By Stephen Gossett in News on Oct 13, 2016 4:09PM

Photo: Scott Olson / Getty Images

A Chicago police officer, who was found liable for sodomizing a man with a screwdriver, and another officer, who watched the assault, are still employed by the Chicago Police Department, nearly ten years after a civil suit, according to reports by activist-journalist Shaun King.

A recent petition to have the two officers fired has generated more than 10,000 signatures as of Thursday morning.

The incident occurred in August, 2004. The victim—a black, then-20-year-old man named Coprez Coffie—was pulled over by officers Scott Korhonen and Gerald Lodwich while riding in a van with friends. The officers, who believed Coffie was making a drug deal, then drove him to an alley. There, Korhonen “got a screwdriver and jammed it deep into the rectum of Coffie—causing internal injuries to Coffie,” King writes.

Korhonen and Lodwich were found guilty in 2007 of “unreasonable search.” (Screwdrivers and human fecal matter were discovered in the officers’ car during the investigation) The City of Chicago was ordered to pay Coffie $4 million in damages plus hundreds of thousands in court fees. Still, despite a judge’s preliminary ruling that found a “a preponderance of the evidence,” the officers never faced criminal charges or disciplinary action, according to New York Daily News.

"It's further evidence that the Police Department does not do an effective job of policing itself," said Jon Loevy, Coffie’s attorney, at the time of the civil verdict.

Worse yet, King examined a listing of current city employees through Chicago’s Data Portal and found that both Korhonen and Lodwich were still taking home a paycheck. According to records, Korhonen drew an annual salary of $87,384 and Lodwich drew $90,618.

A petition on ForceChange was published on Monday and has been circulated heavily via social media. The letter reads in part:

“Police swear an oath to protect and to serve, and it is unacceptable for any officer to disregard that oath and not face any consequences. Officers Scott Korhonen and Gerald Lodwich were found liable of inappropriate, illegal, and brutal conduct toward a citizen. They have not been held accountable for their alleged crimes, but they must be.”

Chicago police did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Chicagoist.

Read King’s full article at New York Daily News here.