Nov. 16--A 28-year-old Country Club Hills man has been charged in connection with the robbery and battery of an off-duty Chicago police sergeant in the Loop late last month.
Joseph Baskins, 28, of Country Club Hills, was charged earlier this week with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, said Cook County state's attorney's office spokeswoman Sally Daly. Baskins has already appeared in court in connection with the charges. His bail was not available.
The sergeant was seriously injured Oct. 30 when he was beaten and robbed of his gun in a downtown parking garage, police said. The incident happened at 3 p.m. in the 100 block of West Madison Street, officials said.
The officer was exiting the elevator on the 12th floor of the garage building with two other men when a group of six to 10 men confronted them, according to police.
"He and two other off-duty officers were returning to their car in a parking garage when another group, including Mr. Baskins, were getting into the same elevator," Daly said.
The three officers continued walking toward their car when several people from the group began hitting the sergeant, causing him to fall to the ground, according to police.
"Words were exchanged," Daly said, and Baskins followed after the sergeant and got into a physical altercation. "He struck the sergeant multiple times to the head, causing injuries."
Witnesses, according to law enforcement sources, said the sergeant instigated the conflict by using the "N" word in reference to the group involved in the confrontation.
The attackers fled when the two colleagues of the sergeant intervened.
"Baskins then took the sergeant's gun and fled the scene," Daly said.
After the attack, the officer realized his duty weapon was missing from his holster, police said.
The sergeant was not on duty at the time and in civilian clothes. He suffered facial fractures, a concussion and bleeding in his brain, police said. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition and has been in and out of consciousness since the beating, police have said. Although he's expected to survive, the injuries have been described as life-altering.
The suspects, who fled after the incident, did not take the sergeant's badge or wallet, police said. The attackers fled in a Buick Rendezvous that lost its bumper on the eighth floor of the parking garage, police said.
The two other officers who were with the sergeant during the fight have been stripped of their police powers and placed on desk duty while Internal Affairs representatives look into whether the officers violated any department policies during the altercation, according to a police spokesman.
Video surveillance photos were taken of the incident, police said.
Baskins' background includes a felony burglary conviction, Daly said.
