A judge found a now-fired Waukegan police officer guilty of a misdemeanor for throwing a handcuffed man to the ground, leaving the detainee injured, with prosecutors calling him a “rogue” officer.
Waukegan Police Officer Richard Tabisz was charged in January 2024 with two felony counts of official misconduct and two misdemeanor counts of battery.
A Lake County judge found Tabisz, who was fired from the department in March 2024, guilty of misdemeanor reckless conduct but found him not guilty on the felony charge of official misconduct and the misdemeanor battery.
The charges stemmed from an incident that occurred when the Waukegan Police Department was called around 4:30 p.m. on December 14, 2023, to a residence for a call of a fight in progress.
Officers learned the suspect fled from the scene after committing a domestic battery and violating an order of protection, then-Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Scott Chastain said.
Officers provided the suspect’s description over the radio and other officers located the suspect.
They placed him in custody for domestic battery and violation of an order of protection-related charges.
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said up to seven officers were on the scene and the suspect was cooperating after being in custody for several minutes.
“The situation was completely under control,” Rinehart said.
Tabisz arrived to transport the suspect to the police department in his squad car for processing.
Tabisz, who was not the arresting officer, threw the handcuffed suspect to the ground in front of several other officers, Rinehart said.
Chastain said the suspect had stopped walking right before the officer threw the man to the ground.
The suspect’s head hit the ground and he suffered a minor injury, Chastain said. He was transported to a local hospital and released.
“We cannot permit rogue police officers to harm civilians. Aside from hurting a fellow human being, these criminal actions undermine public trust in the system and are offensive to good police officers who protect the community every day. In this case, the victim was handcuffed, vulnerable, and unable to protect himself during the fall caused by the officer,” Rinehart said.
“The former officer crossed the line, and the Court correctly found that the defendant’s criminal conduct caused harm to the victim,” Rinehart said.
The state’s attorney said he “respectfully, but strongly” disagrees with the court in acquitting the officer of the misdemeanor charge and felony charge.
The trial was conducted by Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Russell Caskey and consisted mostly of body-worn camera footage shown to the court.
A minute and 45 seconds of body-worn camera video from a nearby officer showed Tabisz walking the handcuffed man to his squad car.
As the pair walked to the squad car, the suspect stopped walking, and Tabisz is seen throwing him to the ground.
“Oh, you fell dude? Why’d you fall? Why’d you fall?” Tabisz is heard asking the man, who is groaning in pain. “Get up,” Tabisz tells the man.
“I’m going to sue you motherfu–ers,” the suspect says. Other officers arrived to pick the suspect up off the ground and continued to walk him to the squad car.
While officers searched Tabisz’s pockets, one of them is heard asking the man, “You still crying?”
The man is again heard groaning in pain while an officer secures him in the back seat of the squad car.
Waukegan Police Department supervisory staff were soon made aware of the incident by other officers who witnessed Tabisz’s actions, Chastain said.
Command staff reviewed the body camera footage and sent Tabisz home for the evening. He was placed on administrative leave before later being terminated.
“Besides Tabisz, other officers on the scene acted very professionally throughout the encounter. We will hold individuals accountable for breaking the law regardless of their profession. I want to thank Chief Navarro and Mayor Ann Taylor for their swift actions in this matter,” Rinehart said at the time the officer was charged.
The Waukegan Police Department brought the case to the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office the day after it happened so they could investigate.
The state’s attorney’s office also began reviewing all pending cases involving Tabisz after the incident came to light.
Then-Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor said in a statement she was “deeply disappointed in the actions of this police officer” but was “very proud that the Waukegan Police Department and our officers hold one another accountable for their actions.”
“I applaud the proactive measures in place at the Waukegan Police Department that quickly moved this case to the Lake County State’s Attorney for review,” Taylor said.
The Waukegan Police Department cooperated with prosecutors but the victim in the case failed to respond to a subpoena or appear in court during the trial.
“The body-worn camera footage clearly showed Tabisz’s criminal conduct. Although Waukegan has used body-worn cameras since 2016, the SAFE-T Act has made it a requirement that all law enforcement agencies use body-worn cameras,” Rinehart said.
Tabisz’s sentencing hearing is set for June 11.
In September 2022, now-former Waukegan Police Officer Dante Salinas was charged with official misconduct and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm from an August 2019 incident where he allegedly broke a man’s eye socket by punching him repeatedly while on duty.
He has since been convicted of one count of official misconduct and not guilty of one count of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and one count of official misconduct.
Salinas was also charged with second-degree murder for a separate incident where he shot and killed Marcellis Stinnette, who was a passenger in a vehicle fleeing from officers. That case remains pending.