Civil Rights News
Even today,
discrimination is a huge issue throughout America. One such news release concerns a Chicago police officer and a man in a wheelchair.
On June 11, 2009, a story went around on the newswire that William Cozzi, a Chicago police officer, was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison. His crime was violating the civil rights of a man that the officer hit several times with a dangerous weapon, while the individual was handcuffed and shackled in a wheelchair.
The police officer pled guilty in January and stated that he had used “excessive or unreasonable force while acting under color of law.” The officer will begin his sentence on August 6, 2009 and has to pay a $2,000 fine, two years of supervised release and 200 hours of community service.
The incident surrounding the case is that Cozzi, admitted he repeatedly hit the victim with a “sap”, a weapon similar to a blackjack while he “was handcuffed and shackled in a wheelchair at Norwegian American Hospital in Chicago, resulting in bodily injury. At the time, the victim was awaiting treatment in the hospital emergency room after being stabbed in the shoulder.”
"Police officers are given tremendous authority and responsibility so that they can protect and serve the public trust. Those who abuse that authority face serious consequences," stated Loretta King, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Civil Rights Division is committed to the vigorous enforcement of federal laws prohibiting this type of misconduct by law enforcement officials."
"No law enforcement officer may use unreasonable force with impunity and every citizen, regardless of being in police custody, has a Constitutional right to be free from the use of excessive force," U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald explained.