Anthony Hernandez has sued the Chicago police department after officers arrested him without probable cause on drug charges and then held him for six months in jail. Not only did Hernandez lose his jobs, but he missed the birth of a child. It also turns out that one of the arresting officers, Slawomir Plewa, was stripped of his police powers in 2008 for his involvement in a false arrest.
Hernandez is suing Chicago Police officer Slawomir Plewa, other unknown officers and the city of Chicago. He alleges that they relied entirely on “confidential” sources without a basis of probable cause.
Plewa was charged with helping a man frame his estranged wife by falsely arresting her on gun and drug charges and then testifying at her trial. Reports state that he was “stripped of his powers” which indicates that he is still employed by the Department.
Hernandez was held in the Cook County Jail from April until October 2008.
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This is an obvious case of a system gone wrong. This also highlights the use of so-called informants. This is the reason why we should be concerned with the amended FISA law and the use of the National Security letters by the FBI. The police and governmental authorities have proven to not be reliable in “playing by the rules”. Maybe a severe judgment against the city of Chicago will open their eyes and force them to clean up the department. However, I am not holding my breath.
Amen, brother.
Talk about a double whammy for the citizens of Chicago. They’ve got to live in fear of a police force that does this, while at the same time their taxes will have to go to pay out for the suit.
Where was this guy’s counsel? Did he get a public defender? The apparently fraudulent grounds of his arrest are one serious issue here, but another is: Why did it take *six months* to get this to a point where charges were dropped and he was released? This system is broken in more ways than one.
Ambimb,
I don’t know for sure, but I understood the story that he was held without charges during that time frame. If that is accurate, the City of Chicago should start putting money aside now to pay for this abuse.
I have heard it said on many an occaision in the courthouse cafeteria- “The only people more dishonest that the crooks…are the cops.”
Janes Addiction: “The gang and the government are no different.”
The Clash: “Police are thieves in the streets.”