Jun 11, 2009 8:45 pm US/Pacific
Ill. Cop Sentenced For Beating Man In Wheelchair
Chicago Police Officer William Cozzi Gets 40 Months; Says He 'Lost It' When He Beat The Man In 2005
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Surveillance video catches Chicago Police Officer William Cozzi beating a stabbing victim while cuffed to a wheelchair in 2005.
Chicago Sun-Times
A Chicago Police officer was sentenced Thursday to 40 months in prison for beating a man shackled to a wheelchair in a hospital four years ago.
William Cozzi stood expressionless as U.S. District Judge Blanche Manning imposed the sentence Thursday.
The case could have an impact on the whole police department, reports CBS station WBBM-TV in Chicago.
"In my opinion, this prosecution was brought by Superintendent Weis was misguided and vindictive," said Cozzi defense attorney Terry Gillespie.
Gillespie believes Cozzi is headed to prison not because of his brutality, but because of his boss.
Cozzi had earlier pleaded guilty to a state misdemeanor charge and sentenced to 18 months of probation. But police Supt. Jody Weis, a former FBI official, referred the case to the federal government, which enraged his officers on the street.
Cozzi pleaded guilty to those charges in January.
Cozzi told a judge he "lost it" when he beat Randle Miles in August 2005. Miles was at Norwegian-American Hospital waiting to be treated for a stabbing wound, and police said he was being combative.
In court Thursday, he apologized, saying, "I let my frustrations get the best of me and made a terrible mistake in judgment."
Prosecutors said a videotape shows Cozzi hitting Miles about 10 times with a "sap," or a bludgeon. Miles does not appear to resist, but he was charged with resisting arrest.
In the plea agreement, Cozzi said he placed the man in handcuffs and leg shackles, and then, with the victim restrained, used the sap to repeatedly strike him in the face and body.
The Chicago Tribune reported Thursday that fellow officers have launched a letter-writing campaign asking the judge for leniency. Fraternal Order of Police President Mark Donohue said there has long been a feeling on the part of officers that Weis does not have their back.
"We will back up cops who do reasonable things," said U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. "But police officers and the public must know when officers cross the line, assault someone and lie about it, that has to be addressed, too."
But Cozzi's attorneys believe the sentence sends a far different signal.
"I got a message for all you fine officers in blue. After 15 years on the job, don't snap. You'll get thrown under the bus, a federal bus, driven by your own superintendent," Gillespie said.
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