Follow up on the Jefferson Tap incident in the West Loop from a few months ago.
cbs2chicago.com - Men Beaten By Cops Say Bar Didn't Help Stop Attack
Four men who were allegedly beaten up by a group of off-duty Chicago police officers at a West Loop tavern last December say the bar's staff did nothing to stop the attack and waited before they called for police or paramedics.Barry Gilfand, Aaron Gilfand, Adam Mastrucci and Scott Lowrence, all of Chicago, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court against At the Tracks Ltd., dba Jefferson Tap. According to the lawsuit, the bar “refused to intervene in the attack [and] initially refused to call any law enforcement to the scene or to call for medical attention.”
Although sources have said the incident was sparked when one of the four poked fun at one of the officers, who was visibly distraught over the death of his father -- a Chicago Police commander, the lawsuit made no mention of that. [umm, no duh! Hey, let's put evidence of possible mitigating circumstances in our complaint just to be nice to the other party.]
According to the lawsuit, the Gilfands, Mastrucci and Lowrence, “while finishing a game of billiards ... were attacked without provocation” by the off-duty officers.
Additionally, the lawsuit says that the bar is guilty of a violation of the state's dram shop statute, which holds an establishment responsible for any injuries someone may incur as a result of another patron of a business that sells liquor and becomes intoxicated at that place.
Not good. I wasn't there that night (thank the pasta gods), but sounds to me like the 4 men are bitter that the City of Chicago is more interested in winning an Olympic bid than investigating police brutality claims. I'm no lawyer (also thank the pasta gods), yet I don't really see how the bar is culpable for the behavior of police officers.
Tags: Chicago, /police, /police_brutality, /restaurant, /West_Loop
Seth, These cops are innocent. The guys are a bunch of drunk traders who dont know when to shut thier mouths. Fights happen at bars. Is jail time really necessary just cause of their jobs???
Possibly, don't know since I wasn't there. There is a double standard though, and police are supposed to be able to avoid escalating bar fights, especially since police are trained fighters and loud mouthed obnoxious assholes usually are not.