ormer Chicago cop caught up in a “hare-brained” scheme to plant drugs and a gun in a suburban woman’s car — a scheme that led to a $375,000 city payout — may soon get his job back.

Slawomir Plewa could be back on the streets, even though the Chicago Police Department is fighting the fired cop’s efforts in court.

Plewa’s actions “represent a serious breach of the public’s trust,” says Marty Dolan, the lawyer who sued Plewa in federal court on behalf of the suburban woman. “He violated a sworn oath to protect the public and certainly does not deserve a second chance to serve in any capacity whatsoever.”

But Cook County Circuit Court Judge Diane J. Larsen disagreed, ruling in April that the Chicago Police Board went too far when it voted 8-1 to fire Plewa last year. Attorneys for Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy are due back in court later this month, preparing to argue that Larsen got it wrong — that she “usurped” the police board’s authority when she said Plewa deserved a more “lenient” punishment.

Cooper was arrested on an obstruction charge when she was unable to immediately provide police with golf cart vendor contracts for a police investigation of a parking violation.

The other two other employees were arrested after they refused to talk with police about hotel management's decision to fire another employee and for not immediately issuing a paycheck for the terminated employee.

The "unbelievable" arrests and agonizing ordeal intensified Thursday when Cooper's trial was continued a third time.

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Her charges were ultimately dismissed, but police once again overstepped their authority, the employee said.

The harassment became so pronounced, the owners purchased and installed sophisticated surveillance equipment to protect the hotel and its employees from police.

To protect themselves.

From police.

There have been times when police officers arrived at the hotel and simply stood intimidatingly in the lobby or in other areas of the hotel, as if they were sentries with no business to attend to and nothing to do.

Two studies have found that at least 40% of police officer families experience domestic violence, in contrast to 10% of families in the general population.

Miller was charged with criminal domestic violence and assault and battery third-degree, according to arrest warrants.

The incident report shows there was video evidence to support the charges.

The warrants state Miller struck a juvenile multiple times with a piece of wood, causing cuts on the teen's arms.

The warrants also state that Miller grabbed a woman and threw her in an aggressive manner, causing her to be in fear of physical harm.

Miller was released on his own recognizance shortly after a Saturday evening bond hearing.

Theall claimed the officer twice used his patrol car to keep him from taking the dog to a veterinary hospital in his own car.

"Finally he convinced me that I would be thrown in jail if I didn't just stay where I was," the dog owner said.

After other officers, including a sergeant, arrived and after an hour had passed, Theall said he was finally allowed to take his dog to the emergency vet, where it's expected to recover, but with very expensive medical bills. His wife set up a gofundme account for donations to help pay for the dog's care and the couple is amazed at the huge response.

"It really does restore some faith in humanity, really; we've got friends out there," he added.

Meanwhile DeKalb County Police spokesman Capt. Stephen Fore told 11Alive the incident is under investigation, like any shooting. He said their officers are trained to preserve evidence at a shooting scene, but he understands the owner's concern over the dog not being treated immediately.

On the page she wrote that the police officer would not allow the couple to take Doctor for help 'due to procedure.'

When a second officer arrived 20 minutes later, 'we found out that procedure was just to take pictures of the bleeding dog.'

No charges have been filed after highway patrol troopers say a Richland County deputy ran a red light and slammed into another driver.

The crash happened in Northeast Columbia on Two Notch Road near Interstate 77 Friday.

Troopers say the deputy's blue lights were not on when he tried to go through the intersection.

The cruiser flipped over and the other car was totaled.

The Richland County Sheriff's Department says the deputy was treated for minor injuries at the hospital.

The driver, 22-year-old Katie Miles has scratches and bruises.

She says she's thankful for all the help she received at the scene but she says she's stunned the deputy has not been charged.

A deputy at the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison was suspended for two days after he accidentally released an inmate who was booked as a fugitive.

According to the EBR Sheriff’s Office, Michael Lorio, 25, was booked into the parish prison on Monday, July 7 for an outstanding bench warrant issued in Livingston Parish. He did not appear for a June court date regarding charges for felony theft.

“His paperwork stated that he was to be released to the Livingston Sheriff’s Office, but the booking deputy made an error and released him to his mother,” Casey Rayborn-Hicks, East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, said. “The error was realized, and we picked him back up, rebooked him and he was transported to the Livingston Parish Prison.”

Lorio's brother, Brett Castle, told 9News that Lorio was not released to his mother, rather he called his mother once he was released. Castle also said Lorio voluntarily turned himself back in to prison on Tuesday and was not picked up by deputies. Castle said deputies attempted to pick him up from his mother's home Monday evening, but Lorio wasn't there at the time.

Officials noted that the deputy was immediately counseled and disciplined for the mistake.

In one case, a sergeant ordered two other deputies to use their stun guns on an inmate who was sitting on his bunk on suicide watch.

In another case, a deputy punched an inmate, pushed him to the ground, handcuffed him and then lifted the inmate by his handcuffed wrists.

The deputies involved in each incident were disciplined by the city. Both are appealing and hearings are scheduled for next week, said Daelene Mix, spokeswoman for the city's safety department.

Examples of deputies using excessive force keep coming up, causing more embarrassment for a department that can't seem to escape criticism.

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Also this week, the city announced that it is offering former jail inmate Jamal Hunter $3.25 million to settle his jail abuse case.

When Wisconsin police officers knock on the window of a car and motion to roll down the window, the state Supreme Court said in a 5 to 2 ruling that the motorist is free to ignore the cop and drive away.

"Although we acknowledge that this is a close case, we conclude that a law enforcement officer's knock on a car window does not by itself constitute a show of authority sufficient to give rise to the belief in a reasonable person that the person is not free to leave," Justice David T. Prosser wrote for the majority.

The justices argued in the context of the December 25, 2011 incident in which Grant County Deputy Sheriff Matthew Small knocked on the window of Daniel A. Vogt who was parked with the engine running in the Riverdale Park parking lot the village of Cassville at 2am. It was 37 degrees at the time. Vogt had done nothing illegal, but Deputy Small thought it was suspicious that Vogt was in the parking lot of a park that had closed at 11pm.

Deputy Small stopped behind Vogt's car with his headlights on, but his overhead red and blue lights off. He walked up to the car and saw Vogt in the driver's seat and Kimberly Russell in the passenger seat. He testified that he would have let Vogt go had he driven off because he "had nothing to stop him for."

Vogt did not drive off, because he thought he could no do so without hitting the deputy. He believed that he had no choice but to comply. Once the window was down, Deputy Small smelled alcohol and noticed Vogt's speech was slurred. This led to Vogt's arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). The court's majority argued that the initial interaction was voluntary.

Family members and area residents say a young dog was fatally shot by police in front of a 6-year-old girl Friday afternoon in a Chicago suburb.

The dog’s owners say 1-year-old shepherd-mix Apollo had gotten out of their yard in the 8700 block of Beck Place in southwest suburban Hometown and the family had just returned him to their lawn when police arrived.

“We were in the lawn and the cop already had his gun out,” said owner Nicole Echlin. “I tried to call him in the house and he just stood there staring and I guess he showed his teeth and the cop just shot him, right in front of me and my 6-year-old daughter.”

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Witnesses said it didn’t appear that the dog was attacking officers or provoking them before the shooting.

“The dog wasn’t doing anything. I didn’t see it doing anything, it wasn’t barking,” said witness and area resident Nicco Torres. “Then I saw a cop shoot the dog, the dog fell to ground on the lawn. I saw through the window the dog was on the floor shot but the dog was still moving, it was moving its legs like it was trying to run but it was laying down.”

Family said the dog had no history of aggression and did not attempt to attack officers at the scene. They claim they were told by officers that the dog showed its teeth.

Ultimately, Pijanowski said he decided the vehicle's potential to save lives outweighed any possible drawbacks. He said the vehicle is not a tank and will not be used as an offensive weapon.

"It's a tool," he said. "It's not a change in our policing philosophy."

Pijanowski said the vehicle would be used in limited situations, most likely those involving an active shooter or a suspect who creates a barricade. He said the vehicle will never be used for patrol or public-relations purposes.

He said it also could be used during high-risk warrant services.

A Fishers teenager and his parents will file a lawsuit after the teen was attacked by a police dog last month.

According to court documents, Brandon Murphy, 19, was injured while police were responding to a deadly stabbing involving two other teenagers on the night of June 22, 2014.

Murphy—who was arrested but wasn’t involved in the stabbing and faces no charges in connection with it—suffered injuries “to the torso, arms, legs and genitals,” according to the tort claim filed by the family.

The suit claims Murphy obeyed orders given to him by the responding officers and was not a threat. It claims officers violated his right to “freedom from illegal seizure and his right to freedom from unlawful arrest and the use of excessive force.”

Murphy said he suffered injuries and severe physical pain during the encounter. The family is seeking compensation for his medical bills and emotional suffering.

A San Antonio man taking photos of his wife’s soon-to-be medical practice was attacked by a plainclothes cop who roared up in a pickup and hopped out, ordering him to get down, striking him in the face with what appeared to be a handheld radio before he could even comply.

Two uniformed SWAT team members quickly joined in, striking Roger Carlos in the head about 50 times with fists and elbows before handcuffing him. satisfied that they had their man.

Except the real man were looking was someone else whom they had chased for miles down a freeway at 80 mph before he pulled into a parking lot, ditched his car and ran.

When the dimwit cops pulled off the freeway and spotted Roger taking photos outside his building in broad daylight, they pounced on him, figuring a fleeing fugitive felon would stop and take photos of a random building during his getaway.

On July 13, Josie Garcia’s husband was pulled over by Houston PD for failure to use a turn signal.

The routine traffic stop lead to a search and prescription drugs belonging to the passenger were found. Both men were subsequently arrested and the SUV was impounded. Charges against her husband were dropped days later.

Unfortunately, Garcia’s 14 year old chihuahua, Guero, was along for the ride.

As the men were being taken into custody and the SUV towed, Guero was removed from the vehicle and left on the side of Highway 59.

Garcia’s husband plead with the officer to let him call someone to come get the dog or for the officer to call animal control, who’s shelter was only 2 blocks away.

The officer refused, claiming the dog would be fine.

For the next 3 days Garcia put up missing posters and searched for her beloved pet. Eventually, she received a call to let her know where he was.

Guero had been found, dead, on the side of the highway not far from where the men were pulled over. The elderly chihuahua was nearly blind from cataracts and had been hit by oncoming traffic.

After I stopped recording several more police cars arrived, per her calling a 'code yellow' on me. She ended up letting me go WITHOUT ANY EXPLANATION after waiting for another 10 minutes in my car. I filed a complaint with the UNCPD for this illegal stop, but they won't tell me what, if any, repercussions she will face (aka none).

In October of 2012, Timothy Young was pulled over for failing to use his turn signal in Lordsburg, New Mexico. When Hidalgo County deputies saw that Young’s companion had an open container, they asked to search the truck. Young consented.

The search dragged on for more than two hours. Deputies eventually called in a K9 unit and claimed that the dog, Leo, alerted on the driver's seat. While deputies sought a warrant for a more extensive search, deputy Patrick Green continued to interrogate Young, at one point asking him, “Do you have it up your ***?”

After the deputies obtained a search warrant, they handcuffed Young and drove him an hour away to the Gila Regional Medical Center in Silver City, New Mexico. Young was x-rayed and digitally probed without his consent. No contraband was found. A few weeks later, the hospital sent Young a bill for services rendered.

Young sued all parties involved. So far he has received a judgment of $925,000 from Hidalgo County.

Approximately 4:30 minutes. Produced by Paul Feine and Alex Manning.

HOUSTON -- A wild freeway chase that came to a tragic end after a police officer's attempt to deploy a spike strip will apparently cost Houston taxpayers $5 million.

Houston City Council this week will consider paying that amount to settle a lawsuit stemming from the January 2009 accident in which two young men suffered severe brain damage.

Neither of the victims -- Dexter Sewell, 20, and Mecole Roques, 19 – were involved in the chase. Their car was struck when they were stuck in a traffic jam created by a Houston police car that had blocked traffic so that an officer could deploy a spike strip.

Both of the young men suffered such severe brain damage, the city attorney's office said, neither of them will be able to live or work independently and they'll both require extensive medical treatment for the rest of their lives.

The chase began when a woman who was being arrested by a Harris County constable's deputy somehow managed to steal the deputy's car. A couple of Houston police officers deployed themselves ahead of the chase in an attempt to stop it.

One of the officers pulled his car sideways to block two lanes of traffic, trying to create a safe space from which another officer could throw a spike strip. That created a traffic jam, stopping innocent drivers caught in the path of the chase.

A video camera mounted on one of the deputies' vehicles captured images of the fleeing car speeding toward the traffic jam, then slamming into the rear of an 18-wheeler and the back of the car carrying the two crash victims.

When he filed a lawsuit on behalf of the victims and their children in 2010, attorney Michael Callahan accused the officers of using trapped motorists as "human shields."

"And what it amounted to was a betrayal of the trust that we place in our police officers," Callahan said.