Cops Gone Wild

If Anthony Abbate, who stands accused of viciously beating and kicking a female bartender, had been a carpenter or a clerk or a bond trader, he would have received no special favors from the police — quite the contrary, most likely. But Abbate is a cop, and so it wasn't hard to find other cops who'll protect him.

Anthony Abbate should have walked in and out of a Cook County courthouse like any other accused criminal Tuesday morning, Chicago Police Supt. Phil Cline said. Instead, the burly Chicago cop, who is accused of pummeling a petite female bartender during a drunken rage, was shielded from the media by on-duty Grand Central District officers, who apparently were acting on the orders of their captain when they used police vehicles to hide Abbate as he left the Northwest Side courthouse.

Oh, police apparently also ticketed the cars of journalists trying to cover Abbate's hearing, and threatened to arrest them.

There are two silver linings here. An embarrassed and angry Police Superintendent Phil Cline isn't taking any more shit from his officers, sending out a crystal clear message that he'll ask for the badges of cops who obey neither the law nor the bounds of ethical behavior. And the local press isn't pussyfooting around on this one, calling violent rogue officers (there has been at least one other Chicagoland police beating recently) "thug cops" — in a headline, no less.

Incidentally, the attack by the drunken 250-pound cop on the 115-pound bartender was caught on video. Watch it here. He beats the living crap out of her because she refused to serve him any more alcohol.

Yeah, he deserves to wear a uniform all right: an orange jumpsuit.

Comments

[Phil]

And orange jumpsuit with a target on the seat.

[severin]

We just had a cop die in a car accident while not wearing his seat belt and you would think that it was Jesus the way the media is covering this guys death, "he was a hero", "he lived to serve the public", etc. They are even broadcasing the funeral service live on one of the local TV stations. I am sick of the couble standard.

[fish]

Hey, in a police state.....the state always lionizes the cops....errr....thugs!

[ben]

An alcoholic as a police officer? I would lose my job as a clerk if I was caught binge-drinking only once.

[Token]

As anyone who has lived in or near Chicago can tell you, CPD protects their own. They're second only to the Daley administration in trying to make problems "go away"...