Plaintiff:
Julio Martinez, Jr.
Incident date:
03/18/2006
Location:
6100 W. Diversey Ave.
Allegations:
Martinez was driving in the Belmont Central neighborhood when Officer Romano stopped him in her squad car. Romano ordered Martinez out of his car, forcefully handcuffed him and placed him in custody. He was transported to a police station, where Officer Haleas grabbed Martinez, choked him and slammed his head into a wall. Romano and Officer Basurto were present, but did not intervene. Haleas filed a false report claiming that he and Romano had observed Martinez exhibiting signs of alcohol impairment, committing vehicle violations and kicking out a window in the police station. As a result, Martinez was charged. An initial investigation found that there was no probable cause for the felony charge of criminal damage to state-supported property. Following this finding by the court, Haleas was investigated for filing false police reports that resulted in wrongful criminal charges. He was stripped of his assignment as a patrol officer and was indicted on 10 felony counts, including official misconduct, obstructing justice and perjury. All charges against Martinez were dismissed.