Dec. 30--A former south suburban police sergeant who allegedly coldcocked a handcuffed suspect inside a police station, breaking the man's nose and knocking him unconscious, has been charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct more than two years after the incident.
Former Lynwood police Sgt. Brandin Fredericksen, allegedly struck the man after a heated exchange inside the station on Sept. 20, 2013, according to Cook County prosecutors. The incident was captured on video, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors did not identify the alleged victim, but Randolph Holmes sued Fredericksen and another officer in federal court, winning a $500,000 judgment three months ago, court records show.
The uppercut Fredericksen allegedly threw caused the man, whose hands were cuffed behind his back, to crumple to the floor of the police station's garage, where he lay unconscious and was unable to stand for more than a minute, prosecutors said.
He suffered a broken nose and a concussion in the alleged assault, prosecutors said. Fredericksen was later fired by the Lynwood Police Department, prosecutors said.
Holmes said in his lawsuit that another Lynwood officer arrested him on a warrant and brought him to the station. The fingerprinting system in Lynwood wasn't working so Holmes was told he would be transported to the nearby Sauk Village Police Department to be booked, prosecutors said.
Fredericksen, the highest-ranking officer on duty at the time, came to the booking room to help the officer drive Holmes to Sauk Village, prosecutors said. Fredericksen became upset with Holmes after learning he had not been following directions and was talking on his cellphone.
The two then traded insults -- "He was being very disrespectful," Holmes wrote in his handwritten lawsuit -- and Fredericksen allegedly shoved Holmes into the lockup door hard enough to make it close, prosecutors said.
The police officer and the detainee then walked to the garage, where Fredericksen approached Holmes from the side and landed an uppercut on his nose, prosecutors said. Holmes fell to the ground, where he lay for about 90 seconds.
Fredericksen tried to pick Holmes up several times but couldn't because he was unconscious, prosecutors said. He finally was able to pick up Holmes and put him in the back of the arresting officer's vehicle.
Holmes complained at the Sauk Village lockup that he had been knocked out and requested medical attention, prosecutors said. Officers there transported him back to Lynwood, they said.
He was eventually taken to the hospital where doctors found he had suffered a "left nasal bone fracture" and a concussion, prosecutors said.
Federicksen turned himself in Tuesday morning. At the Markham courthouse Tuesday afternoon, Judge Frank Zelezinski set bail for the former police sergeant at $10,000.
sschmadeke@tribpub.com
