Former Chicago Police lieutenant sues over fake Facebook page and other alleged harassment

A former Chicago Police lieutenant is suing the department and his former colleagues for allegedly creating a phony Facebook page under his name with his photo labeled “IAD informant,” for displaying a poster at a police station with his photo and the words “sex offender” and for repeatedly stopping his sons on the street.

Ronald Forgue, 54, the former commanding officer of the alternative response section at the city’s 311 center, says he was harassed since 2012 “because he followed proper procedure” as a supervisor, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court by attorneys Mary Grieb and Brendan Shiller.

“He was a by-the-book sergeant and lieutenant. He was not afraid to discipline the guys underneath him. He played by the rules. And you see what happens,” Grieb said.

Forgue previously was a lieutenant in the Gresham District and a sergeant in the Calumet District — both on the South Side. He also worked for internal affairs, which investigates complaints against cops.

The lawsuit, which was filed late Wednesday, said officers brought seven complaints from 2012 to 2014 against Forgue, when he was a supervisor, because he was a straight arrow.

The “sex offender” poster was displayed in a police station where he worked in 2013 and the Facebook page was created in 2014, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit also claims that officers harassed his three sons, stopping them 22 times between 2012 and early 2015. False information was spread through the department that his sons are gang members, the lawsuit said.

“Generally, these 22 stops were either quick stops on the street or they were brought to the station, questioned and released,” Grieb said.

“One or two times, they were charged,” Grieb said, but she would not discuss details of those cases. Records show the cases involved minor offenses and none resulted in felony convictions.

Forgue’s lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages.

Forgue was previously sued in federal court in connection with a Taser incident, records show. In 2013, the city agreed to pay $55,000 to a South Side woman who was Tasered by Officer Reginald Pippen when she was eight months pregnant. She claimed Forgue and another officer mocked and laughed at her while she writhed in pain.

The city denied the allegation against Forgue and said the officers didn’t know the woman was pregnant. Forgue also denies the allegation, Grieb said.

The woman, Tiffany Rent, was Tasered after she parked in a disabled spot then tore up a parking ticket and refused to show an ID to Pippen, police said at the time. She later gave birth to a healthy boy.