Illinois State’s Attorney’s Office is invetigating Chicago Officer Richard Fiorito for drumming up false DUI charges.
A federal lawsuit was filed against Fiorito by 21 people that allege they were roughed up and called anti-gay slurs by the Chicago police officer. As many as 20 more indivudals are expected to join the suit.
A video released Tuesday appears to show Fiorito bullying a DUI suspect during a June arrest. There are a number of problems with the way the field sobriety test were conducted. Despite the officer’s inability to conduct the tests correctly the driver seems to do fine. Despite his performance he is arrested for DUI.
A second video does not appear to support Fiorito’s allegations that the driver was swerving from lane to lane and narrowly missing parked cars.
On Novmeber 12, 2009, NBC Chicago reported:
Fiorito has been honored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving for the 313 DUI arrests he made between Jan. 1, 2007 and June 6, 2008.
He said that if he’s called to testify in these cases, he will assert his 5th Amendment rights.
Fiorito is the third Chicago cop accused of trumping up DUI charges. Last year, prosecutors dropped more than 50 cases after accusing Chicago officer John Haleas of perjury. Earlier this year, dozens of DUI arrests by officer Joe Parker came under scrutiny.
I previously practiced in a jurisdiction where all police vehicles were equipped with cameras. The videos above demonstrate why they should be mandatory in every jurisdiciton. Not only do offer unbiased evidence, they can be used to deter (or at least catch) police misconduct.
As the push to arrest more and more DUI driver’s continues, these type of incidents will become more prevelant.
