Chicagoist Weekend Blotter

By Shannon in News on Mar 25, 2007 9:36PM

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On the coattails of the bartender-beating incident, six off-duty cops are accused of attacking four businessmen in a bar on December 15. The men, two of whom were brothers, were allegedly playing pool at West Loop's Jefferson Tap and Grille when the officers pounced on the group, unprovoked. When witnesses dialed 911, the pugilistic police waved them off. The melee was supposedly caught on tape.

More bad news for Chicago's Finest: A couple is accusing three more off-duty officers of kidnapping and beating them on March 9. Tamira Smyth claims that cops took her hostage in her own apartment in the 1600 block of North Bosworth in Wicker Park, demanding money. When boyfriend Troy Clark walked in on the congregation, he was bound, roughed up, and dumped in Harvey, IL. Clark ended up with a busted jaw and 30 stitches in his hand, among other injuries.

A 25-year-old man shot and killed his pregnant girlfriend in Riverdale early Saturday morning. 21-year-old Jwonda Thurston dropped off her three children at her sister's when she got into an argument with her boyfriend, Reginald Lane. Thurston's sister called police; when officers knocked at the back door, Thurston answered, and was summarily shot in the head by Lane. Lane then took six children in the apartment hostage, but later surrendered without incident.

Finally, the driver in the deadly Oswego crash from Feb. 11 has plead not guilty. Sandra Vasquez, 23, was behind the wheel with eight teenage passengers when she slammed into a utility pole at a high rate of speed. Four teenagers died instantly; one died later in the hospital of his injuries. Vasquez's blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash, according to a search warrant, was .124.

Image courtesy of Triborough.