Man body-slammed by police gets released after posting bond

Bernard Kersh was arrested on Thanksgiving for allegedly spitting on a police officer who slammed him to the pavement.

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Bernard Kersh was released from the Cook County Jail Friday, Dec. 6, 2019. Kersh, 29, who was accompanied by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, was arrested for allegedly spitting on an officer who then body slammed him to the ground. | Andy Grimm/Sun-Times

A man arrested for allegedly spitting on an officer who then body-slammed him to the ground was released from the Cook County Jail Friday night after the Illinois Department of Corrections lifted a hold that had prevented him from posting bond.

Bernard Kersh, 29, walked out of the jail about 7:30 p.m. with his mother, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Jackson’s retinue. Wearing thick glasses and with what appeared to be some swelling beneath his right eye, Kersh stood in front of a throng of reporters and briefly thanked Jackson and “everybody that had something to do with me coming home to my family.”

Asked how he was feeling, Kersh said “I’m getting better” before he was cut off by supporters.

Jackson said Kersh still is suffering from “severe headaches” and would go for treatment Monday, and he called on Mayor Lori Lightfoot to discipline the officer. Jackson described the officer, who reportedly competes in MMA fights as a “trained martial artist,” and Kersh as a “one-eyed man who’s schizophrenic, mentally challenged.

”We don’t know the extent of (Kersh’s) injury. I would hope that the mayor would seize this opportunity to say to rogue cops, ‘Your time is over,’” Jackson said. “We need good policemen who do their jobs and serve the public, but those who use excessive and abusive power have no place.”

Bernard Kersh 

Bernard Kersh

Chicago police

Earlier Friday, Andrew M. Stroth, a lawyer for Kersh’s family, said he needed both medical and mental health treatment.

“Watch the video. He suffered a traumatic event, and we just want to make sure he doesn’t have a brain injury. He doesn’t need to be in a jail cell; he needs to be in hospital getting treatment.”

Kersh was drinking at a bus stop on 79th Avenue and South Cottage Grove on Thanksgiving when he was confronted by a plainclothes officer, Cook County prosecutors said.

Kersh spit at the officer, prompting the officer to bear hug Kersh and throw him to the ground. Camera phone video filmed by a bystander showed Kersh striking his head on the curb next to the officer’s SUV and going limp.

The officer and another who responded have since been stripped of their police powers as the Civilian Office of Police Accountability investigates the use of force.

Kersh was later charged with aggravated battery of a peace officer, misdemeanor counts of assault and resisting arrest, as well as a count of drinking alcohol in public.

Jackson visited the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on Tuesday to post the $500 needed to secure Kersh’s release, but he remained in custody because of a hold placed by the IDOC. Kersh was recently on parole for an 18-month prison sentence for a previous conviction for resisting or obstructing a police officer.

Thursday, Jackson held a press conference with Kersh’s family, calling for his release. Kersh’s mother said her son is schizophrenic and requires medications.

Prosecutors at Kersh’s bond hearing over the weekend said he did not suffer any skull or brain injuries, just a scratch “the size of a fingernail” over his eye.

The Fraternal Order of Police on Friday sent a letter to Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, calling on her to repudiate remarks disparaging police that were made by activists who joined by Jackson at the Thursday press conference.

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