Chicago Police Brutality

Prosecutors dropped a misdemeanor charge against Anthony Abbate. The Chicago police officer was caught caught on videotape assaulting bartender Karolina Obrycka. Abbate still faces a felony charge.

"We reviewed it (and) we think this crime was a felony," said John Gorman, spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's office.

If convicted, Abbate faces up to five years in prison, Gorman said.

Reports indicate that law enforcement and the state attorney's office are looking into if Abbate and another man attempted to bride and intimidate Obrycka and the owner of Jesse's Shortstop Inn Tavern; so they would not report the crime. It appears Abbate is strongly supported by the Chicago Police Department.

Cline said that he has ordered an investigation into allegations that officers helped Abbate enter and leave the court building Tuesday so he didn't have to face the media outside.

Cline said he was moving to demote the watch commander that allowed police officers to block the public's access to an area Abbate used to leave the court house without being viewed by the media.

There is an internet story that Abbate was not the only CPD officer in Jesse's Shortstop Inn Tavern. If true, then why didn't the other officers come to the aid of Obrycka. This story is reeking of police corruption. Is it any wonder that Obrycka is afraid of the police.

"She has literally nightmares about what happened and she's very afraid of the police," he said. "She's fearful of the police and she's fearful of this guy coming back to her house."

The CPD needs to be torn up from top to bottom.