Politics
Suspend CPD Officers, Sergeant Repeatedly Accused of Making Improper Traffic Stops for a Combined 330 Days: Police Brass
(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
A Chicago police sergeant and two officers repeatedly accused of improperly stopping and searching Black people should be suspended for a combined 330 days for their actions during a September 2024 improper traffic stop, Chicago Police Department leaders and the agency tasked with investigating police misconduct agreed, records show.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability determined that four members of the tactical team that had been assigned to patrol the Near North (18th) Police District improperly stopped and searched Desmen Northington, according to records published Thursday.
The agency better known as COPA found that Officers Joseph Vecchio, Nicu Tohatan and Mario Fuentes improperly stopped and searched Northington, a Black man, near Superior Street and Michigan Avenue in September 2024, records show.
All three officers violated Northington’s “civil rights against unlawful search and seizure, and they subjected him to prolonged verbal abuse and disrespect,” COPA concluded. “The officers abused their position of power by threatening to arrest (Northington) and have his (commercial driver’s license) and (concealed carry license) revoked, and leave him without a job.”
Former Supt. Larry Snelling concurred with COPA’s conclusions and found those violations merited the suspensions of Vecchio and Tohatan for 120 days each, records show.
Had Fuentes not resigned from CPD in February he also would have faced a 120-day suspension, records show.
In addition, when Northington complained about how he was treated by the officers, Sgt. Erick Seng failed to activate his body-worn camera and initiate a complaint as required by CPD policy, records show.
Seng should be suspended for 90 days, Snelling determined, concurring with COPA’s findings.
The city paid Northington $80,000 in August 2025 to resolve the lawsuit he filed against the city.
Northington’s name was redacted from COPA’s report but became a part of the public record after he sued the city.
The stop was part of what COPA identified as a troubling pattern of 50 undocumented and unprofessional stops of Black people in Lincoln Park, West Town, Old Town, River North, Streeterville, the Gold Coast and parts of Logan Square in 2024, records show.
More than 90% of the complaints investigated by COPA were sparked by officers’ decisions to pull over Black people, according to a letter sent by COPA to the district’s commander.
To date, COPA investigators determined members of that tactical team violated department policy during 23 separate traffic stops, according to a WTTW News analysis of COPA records.
The incident began just before 7 p.m. Sept. 23, 2024, after Northington returned to his car after picking up an item at a nearby store and was using his phone to find directions to his friend’s home, according to his lawsuit.
Tohatan approached Northington and told him he was illegally parked because he did not have his hazard lights activated in a 15-minute parking zone. COPA investigators concluded that was false, and determined officers should not have stopped Northington.
After officers demanded to see his license and registration, Northington told them he had done nothing wrong and asked that they call a supervisor to the scene.
The officers did not call their supervisor, as required by CPD policy, and ordered Northington out of the car, records show. Seven seconds later, all three officers grabbed Northington and forcibly pulled him out of the car, restrained him and pinned him against his car and searched him while calling him a “punk,” “crazy” and “stupid,” according to the probe.
The officers searched Northington’s car and found a closed bottle of tequila in the trunk, which Vecchio poured out into the street, telling Northington, “Guess you’re gonna learn to listen today, man,” and threatened to arrest him, according to COPA’s probe.
Northington called 911 after the three officers released him without a citation and Seng responded, records show. But Seng did not file the complaint as Northington requested, after speaking with Vecchio on the phone, records show.
Vecchio, Tohatan and Fuentes told COPA investigators they ordered Northington out of the car, searched him and his car after he made “furtive movements” that led them to suspect he had drugs or a weapon. However, COPA found no evidence Northington made any suspicious movements based on footage from the officers’ body-worn cameras, records show.
“Additionally, none of the officers was able to describe with specificity what (Northington) was allegedly reaching for or manipulating, limiting any probative value of these claimed observations,” COPA concluded.
All three officers also told investigators they smelled alcohol coming from Northington’s vehicle. However, footage from the officers’ body-worn cameras show Northington did not exhibit any indication that he was intoxicated, the probe concluded.
In addition, COPA investigators concluded the officers used disproportionate force while removing Northington from his car, records show.
“The officers’ interaction with (Northington) lacked basic professionalism and human decency,” COPA concluded. “Throughout the entire encounter, the officers collectively used language and exhibited behavior that was unprofessional, disrespectful, and inconsistent with the standards expected of law enforcement personnel. The conduct was not limited to a single officer; rather, all three accused officers engaged in grossly inappropriate behavior.”
In all, 27 complaints against Vecchio have been sustained, resulting in recommended suspensions totaling at least 445 days, records show.
Vecchio is facing termination for making false statements under oath about two separate traffic stops, records show. He was stripped of his badge in October 2025.
In addition, Vecchio was charged with felony aggravated domestic battery in August and is being held in jail pending trial, records show. His next court date is Oct. 29, records show. He could not be reached for comment by WTTW News.
Seng, who earns more than $152,000 annually, is assigned to CPD’s Gang Investigation Division.
In all, 15 complaints against Seng have been sustained, resulting in recommended suspensions totaling at least 271 days, records show. He did not respond to a request for comment from WTTW News.
Tohatan has been stripped of his badge and assigned to administrative duties. Tohatan, who earns more than $115,000 annually, did not respond to a request for comment from WTTW News.
Bureau of Internal Affairs investigators separately closed a complaint about a 2025 traffic stop conducted by Vecchio and another member of the 18th District Tactical Team, Officer Richard Rodriguez, without finding either officer violated CPD policy, records show.
Inspector General David Glockner urged BIA leaders to reopen the complaint after reviewing footage captured by a body-worn camera, records show.
During the traffic stop, Rodriguez appeared to suggest that he would not issue any citations to the driver if they did not request a receipt documenting the incident, according to the inspector general’s review. That evidence should be reexamined in light of the department’s policy prohibiting officers from retaliating against members of the public who assert their rights, Glockner urged.
However, Deputy Chief Timothy Moore, who is in charge of BIA, declined to reopen the probe after determining the conversation between Rodriguez and the driver of the vehicle “did not constitute retaliation,” records show.
Taxpayers have spent a total of $1.2 million to defend and settle 21 pending and 10 resolved lawsuits naming members of the tactical team, according to records obtained by WTTW News.
Lawyers for the city are negotiating a global settlement to resolve 17 of those lawsuits, WTTW News reported earlier this year.
WTTW News coverage of policing and police reform is supported by The Joyce Foundation.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
