Oct. 24--As a veteran tactical officer on Chicago's South Side, Aldo Brown was trained to aggressively investigate gangs and drug dealing in some of the city's most violent neighborhoods.
But on Friday, a federal jury found that even police officers can cross the line.
After a weeklong trial, Brown was convicted of a single felony count of excessive force in the beating of a suspect in a South Shore neighborhood convenience store three years ago that was captured by surveillance cameras. The same jury acquitted him on two other counts of obstruction of justice that alleged he lied in police reports about the incident.
Dressed in a dark gray suit, the burly officer kept his hands clasped in front of him on the defense table and raised his eyebrows at the word "guilty" but showed no emotion. A moment later he turned to his mother and father seated a few feet away in the courtroom gallery and shook his head in seeming disbelief.
Brown, 38, has been on paid desk duty since his indictment in November 2014 but will face termination now that he's a felon.
Free on bond pending sentencing, he left the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse without comment. The 13-year veteran faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in February.
Federal prosecutors brought the rare charge of excessive force against Brown last fall as events in Ferguson, Mo., were sparking national protests over questionable use of force by police.
The case likely would never have been charged if it weren't for the surveillance video that depicted Brown beating store worker Jecque Howard from several angles. There was no audio with the footage, however, leaving the defense some room to try to explain why Brown used the force he did.
Brown's lawyer, Daniel Herbert, vowed to appeal the conviction and raised concern that the verdict would have a "big impact on law enforcement officers not only here in Chicago but across the country."
"I'm fearful that officers will hesitate before utilizing the force they are legally allowed to use in fear of becoming a defendant in a criminal matter," he said.
The jury deliberated a little more than four hours before reaching its verdict.
The excessive force charge can be tricky for prosecutors because they are required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer's conduct was willful. The jury, in fact, asked in a note for clarification on the element of the offense that charged that Brown "intended to deprive" Howard of his constitutional rights.
After conferring with attorneys for both sides, U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall sent a note back saying it meant the government had to prove Howard "knew what he was doing was a violation of the law, but he need not know the exact law or right he was violating."
Among a handful of spectators as the verdict was read Friday was U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon. His spokesman, Joseph Fitzpatrick, later said that while the vast majority of police officers are honest and deserve the public's trust "for putting their lives on the line," prosecutors will continue to go after those who misuse their powers.
"An officer who violates that trust and exceeds his authority will be held accountable," Fitzpatrick said.
On Sept. 27, 2012, Brown, a plainclothes tactical officer in the crime-ridden South Chicago district since 2005, went with his partner to the Omar Salma convenience store in the 7600 block of South Coles Avenue on a tip that drugs were being sold there and employees were acting as lookouts for the dealers.
The surveillance footage from inside the tiny store showed Brown handcuffing Howard and several others, including customers, and searching some of the customers' pockets before walking up and down the aisles looking for contraband.
At the rear of the store, the officers found a backpack with a bottle of liquor and empty plastic bags that are typically used to package marijuana. According to prosecutors, Howard told the officers it belonged to him.
Meanwhile, the partner removed the handcuffs from Howard. Brown approached Howard and appeared on the video to give him an order.
As Howard lifted up his shirt to show his waistband, the video showed the 6-foot-3, 265-pound Brown punching the much smaller Howard in the face with a quick right hand. After Howard stumbled back into a cooler door, Brown choked him with his left hand and then cocked his right fist and delivered a blow to Howard's ribs, the video showed.
Brown then dragged Howard toward the back of the aisle. As Howard lay on his back on the floor, Brown hit him a third time in the face with his fist. He then rolled Howard over and handcuffed him. After removing the loaded .22-caliber gun in his back pocket, Brown kicked Howard in the side.
Howard suffered scratches and bruising but was not seriously injured in the attack, prosecutors said. He later filed a federal lawsuit that the city settled for $100,000.
Testifying in his own defense, Brown told jurors that he feared for his life after spotting the handgun in Howard's pocket before he threw the first punch. But the video showed that Brown continued to beat and kick Howard for nearly a minute before he took control of the gun -- a reaction that prosecutors argued made no sense.
"He punched first and asked questions later, and that is not the job of the police," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Romero said in her closing argument Thursday. "This is a situation where you got to see the truth in real time, and it was ugly."
Prosecutors also took aim at Brown's contention that he threw the punch to the ribs because Howard had reached out his hand and brushed it up against the officer's holstered gun.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay Jenkins told jurors that the video clearly showed Howard was holding his hand out defensively because he was "getting his face smashed in."
"Five seconds ago, Howard was punched in the face," Jenkins said. "And he's getting ready to get it again."
In his remarks, Herbert urged jurors to look at the full picture of what went on in the store from the officer's perspective, not just what was on the video. He said his client, an Army veteran, had every reason to be concerned about his safety, especially considering that the store was in a violent neighborhood and known as a drug spot.
"How in the world do (prosecutors) know what Aldo Brown saw?" Herbert said.
After the incident, Brown filed an arrest report that contained several statements later proved inaccurate by the video, including that he executed an "emergency takedown for officer safety" immediately after spotting the gun in Howard's pocket. On a form required by the department to document use of force, Brown failed to check boxes noting he'd punched and kicked the suspect, evidence at trial showed.
In his closing argument, Herbert said the omissions were unintentional and had no business being charged as felonies.
"Really? We're sitting here in a federal courtroom because he failed to check a box in some meaningless document?" Herbert said.
jmeisner@tribpub.com
