Associated Press
A Chicago police officer has been indicted for the alleged use of excessive force in a videotaped arrest at the Cabrini-Green public housing complex, authorities said.
Bryan Vander Mey, 33, pleaded not guilty Thursday in Cook County Criminal Court to four counts of official misconduct and two counts of battery, said Jerry Lawrence of the state’s attorney’s office. He said Vander Mey was released on $20,000 bond and has a court appearance scheduled for July 7.
A criminal investigation began in the case after police turned over to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office a videotape shot by a Cabrini resident on April 17, 2003, that showed officers dragging suspects from a van and kicking them.
With a large crowd watching, 40 to 50 officers surrounded a van occupied by four men, one of whom was wanted on weapons and drug charges.
The occupants refused to get out of the van, and after a 30-minute standoff, police smashed the windows, used pepper spray and dragged the four men to the ground.
The tape shows that some officers began to kick the men as other officers held them down.
Investigators allege Vander Mey, who was hired by the department six years ago, was identified kicking one of the arrested men after he had been brought under control.
The officers in question responded appropriately to a potentially explosive scenario and did what they “should be expected to do,” Vander May’s attorney, William Fahy, has said.
The felony charge of official misconduct carries a potential penalty ranging from probation to five years in prison, authorities said.
Vander Mey was taken off they payroll pending a Police Board meeting, said Lori Lightfoot, the chief administrator of the department’s Office of Professional Standards.
The four arrested suspects later filed a federal lawsuit in connection with the incident, alleging they were the victims of an unprovoked beating by “a mob” of officers. The suits, which are pending, seek $400,000 in damages.