A female bartender whose videotaped beating was broadcast around the world in 2007 told two responding officers her attacker was a Chicago cop and that three cameras captured the incident.
But the officers’ police report didn’t mention another cop was suspected of the beating or that it was videotaped, city attorneys acknowledged in a filing in federal court.
The bartender, Karolina Obrycka, claims the responding officers left the information out because they didn’t want to deal with the other cop, Anthony Abbate. Obrycka also says she gave the officers Abbate’s full name, which the city disputes.
Abbate was sentenced to probation for felony aggravated battery and fired for his off-duty beating of Obrycka at Jesse’s Shortstop Inn at 5425 W. Belmont on Feb. 19, 2007.
On Tuesday, the city filed answers to Obrycka’s claims. According to the city’s filing, both sides agree that:
♦ Abbate fought with a patron and left the bar after 3 p.m. because he was cut off from having more alcohol. After returning about 8 p.m., he raised his arms and stated “Chicago Police Department” before elbowing another patron and putting him in a headlock.
♦ Abbate twice went behind the bar and Obrycka tried to stop him. The second time, he beat and kicked her and said: “No one will tell me what to do.”
♦ Two veteran Grand-Central District patrol officers arrived at 9:34 p.m. after Abbate left the bar. The first thing Obrycka told them was that she was the victim, the offender was a police officer and the incident was caught on video.
According to the city, the officers later told investigators they could not recall if they knew on the day of the beating that Obrycka’s attacker was a cop. The city denies the officers lied to investigators or failed to report the misconduct of another officer.
Still, the Independent Police Review Authority found the officers violated a department rule, the city admitted. The city said it “agreed to reduce their penalty to half of the recommended punishment,” but didn’t specify what disciplinary action was taken against them, if any.
Police brass viewed the video on Feb. 22, 2007, three days after the beating. The department originally charged Abbate with a simple battery, a misdemeanor. But on March 20, 2007, after WFLD-Channel 32 first aired the video publicly, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office approved a felony aggravated battery charge against Abbate.
