$5K bail for man who allegedly spat on cop before being body-slammed

An image taken from a cellphone video that was posted to social media Thursday. The video shows a Chicago police officer lifting a man off his feet and slamming him to the ground; police say the man spit on the officer while being detained for drinking in public. | Screenshot from provided video

Bail was set at $5,000 Sunday for a man who was seen in a viral video being body-slammed by a Chicago police officer after allegedly spitting in the cop’s face as he was being detained Thursday for drinking at a bus station in Chatham.

Bernard Kersh, 29, faces a felony count of aggravated battery of a peace officer and misdemeanor counts of assault and resisting arrest, as well as a citation for drinking in public, police announced Saturday.

Cellphone footage of the takedown made national headlines after the video was widely circulated on social media platforms. The video drew a swift rebuke from Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who described the footage as “very disturbing” and promised an independent investigation into the incident.

Just before 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving, two officers pulled up to the bus stop in 800 block of East 79th Street in an unmarked police SUV and noticed Kersh drinking from a vodka bottle, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said during Kersh’s initial court hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.

When the officers approached Kersh, he started cursing at them and “became combative,” Murphy said. After escorting Kersh toward the SUV and asking his name so they could issue a drinking ticket, Kersh declined to provide his information as they began searching him.

That’s when Kersh attempted to lick the face of the officer who was frisking him, according to Murphy. Kersh, who wasn’t handcuffed “in an effort to de-escalate the situation,” later licked the same cop’s left cheek.

Murphy said Kersh grew increasingly agitated when the second officer picked up the vodka bottle.

After moving toward that officer “in an aggressive manner,” the other cop grabbed Kersh and placed him against the SUV, Murphy said. Kersh then allegedly spat on the officer after threatening to “kick his ass.”

When the spittle dripped into his mouth, the officer slammed Kersh to the ground using an “emergency takedown maneuver,” according to Murphy. Kersh was then “carried and placed face down into the SUV” after other units arrived at the scene.

Kersh was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was sedated after growing uncooperative with the staff. Murphy said Kersh didn’t suffer any skull or brain injuries, noting that he only sustained “a small scratch the size of a fingernail” near his right eyebrow. The officer was also treated at a hospital and has since been placed on desk duty.

Surveillance footage from a nearby business shows the entire incident, said Murphy, adding that a police POD camera also shows what transpired after Kersh was slammed.

Bernard Kersh, 29, faces a felony count of aggravated battery of a peace officer and misdemeanor counts of assault and resisting arrest, as well as a citation for drinking in public, according to Chicago police. But Mayor Lori Lightfoot has said footage of an arresting officer body-slamming Kersh during the arrest was “very disturbing.”

While Kersh’s criminal history is mostly made up of misdemeanor retail theft convictions, he has been convicted of a pair of felonies that stemmed from interactions with police officers, Murphy said.

Last October, Kersh was convicted of resisting a peace officer that he also spat on and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, Murphy said. And in 2011, he was sentenced to two years probation and 120 days in jail after being convicted of battering an officer.

Sami Azhari, Kersh’s private attorney, explained that his client was diagnosed with schizophrenia six years ago, claiming that his condition has “contributed significantly to his criminal history.” Azhari, who noted that Kersh was hospitalized about a month ago when he had a psychological episode, questioned whether his client had suffered a traumatic brain injury from the slam.

Judge Arthur Wesley Willis nevertheless said spitting is considered a violent act and ordered Kersh held on $5,000 bail, meaning he’ll have to post $500 to be released from custody. Willis also placed Kersh on a round-the-clock curfew. His next court date was set for Thursday.

As Willis laid out his ruling, Kersh stood with his hands behind his back, timidly nodding and acknowledging the judge’s instructions as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and other activists stood with his mother, Keshia Johnson.

“I think [the officer] went about handling my son the wrong way,” Johnson said during a brief press conference. “He could’ve killed him.”

Attorney Eric Russell told reporters that Johnson’s case is an example of the “continuous pattern of brutality that’s being inflicted upon the black community.”

“The Chicago police have a long history of just jumping out of vehicles and brutalizing black people,” Russell said. “This was, for all practical purposes, attempted murder.”

Martin Preib, vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, later defended the officer’s use of force.

“There’s no support of our officers in the city right now, and the people it’s costing the most are the most vulnerable in the city.”