Lawsuit accuses cop of fake DUI arrests
Police dash cam.A veteran Chicago police officer is under investigation for allegedly making dozens of false DUI arrests, and criminal charges may be coming soon.
Surveillance video has been obtained from one of those arrests showing Officer Richard Fiorito in action on the night shift.
Because of all the complaints against him, Chicago police ordered Fiorito to use a surveillance system in
More..his squad car back in March. The video obtained by ABC7 Chicago is from his squad car and will be used as evidence in a federal civil case against him.
To date, 21 people are part of the lawsuit. All say they were victims of a DUI scheme.
Dash cam video from Officer Fiorito's squad car was taken June 21 at 2:25 a.m.
"Been drinking tonight?," Frioto asks in the video. "I had a cocktail earlier in the night maybe," the person responds. "I didn't ask you that. Have you been drinking?" Fiorito said.
Other officers first came upon a man and his girlfriend sitting in their car after hours by the lakefront. They called in Fiorito because he'd had advanced training in making DUI arrests.
"Whatever you've got in your mouth, get rid of it. That's the third time I told you. You understand me now?" Frioto says in the video.
What Officer Fiorito wrote in his own police report was that the driver was so intoxicated, he was unable to perform any of the standard field sobriety tests.
In the video, the driver is told to walk a straight line and next, to touch his finger to his nose with eyes closed. Finally, he's told to stand on one leg for 30 seconds, eyes closed.
"I've been doing DUIs since 1992, and I've never seen a subject do the one-leg stand this well," said Jon Erickson, the attorney for plaintiffs.
Erickson represents the man in the video and 21 others who are part of a federal civil suit against Officer Fiorito. Most, like Oscar Faezell and Lex Leaks, claim Fiorito targeted them in the Boystown neighborhood along North Halsted, following them after leaving gay bars.
"I feel like I was targeted because I was walking out of a bar, and he needed to make a DUI arrest," Faezell said.
"And then, he goes, 'Oh wow, two strikes. You're black and you're a [expletive]' and told me, basically, my life was going to be ruined because of this DUI," Leaks told ABC7 Chicago.
However, both Faezell and Leaks were found not guilty of DUI.
The civil case charges that Officer Fiorito engages in a pattern of false arrests, then perjures himself in court testimony in order to rack up more than 300 DUI arrests per year.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving(MADD) awarded Fiorito for being the state's highest writer of DUI tickets.
ABC7 Chicago found Officer Fiorito after he had just testified in another DUI case at the criminal courthouse. That's a place he spends a lot of time, according to the lawsuit, being paid time-and-a-half.
When asked if he was proud of the DUI arrests he's made during his career, the officer responded, "I'm proud of everything I've done."
"The more DUI arrests that he makes, the more times that he has to go to court, more times he goes to court, the more money he makes," said Erickson.
ABC7 Chicago has learned that Fiorito is also being investigated by the Cook County state's attorney's office.
A grand jury has been hearing from witnesses like Susan Kolinek, who is deaf and says Fiorito ignored her requests for a sign language interpreter. Nonetheless, he still ordered her to perform field sobriety tests.
"Close my eyes, tilt my head back and listen to verbal commentary. And I told him, 'I'm deaf. I can't do that.' And he laughed," Kolinek said. "Later, he said, 'You're not deaf. You're just drunk.'"
But Kolinek's DUI charge was dismissed.
In a statement, Fiorito's attorney says:
"The allegations are false, unfounded and patently frivolous...and the allegations of targeting a group of individuals will be shown to be unsubstantiated."
To accusations that, perhaps, he was targeting a single group of people, Fiorito said, "No, I'm not."
Two other Chicago cops have been accused of similar DUI schemes in recent years. One was stripped of his police powers during his investigation. The other decided to retire and collect his pension rather than face impending charges.
Despite dozens of complaints against him, Officer Fiorito is still out on the streets making DUI arrests. A Chicago Police Department spokesperson wouldn't say much about Fiorito, telling ABC7 Chicago only that he was under investigation by the internal affairs division.
Sources tell ABC7 that criminal charges against Fiorito are expected to be handed down soon from the state's attorney's office. Less..
Added: Oct 7 2009 In: news_politics
Recorded on: Jun 21 2009
By: jdischord 
- Views: 1130 |
- Votes: 1 |
- Recommendations: 0 |
- Comments: 13
Comments - sort by newest to oldest
WOW! Chicago cops being bad?! No way!
Posted Oct-7-2009 by "hfggf" (R)
LOL !! Dumb pig... enjoy getting cornholed in jail!
Posted Oct-7-2009 by "DolbyKid" (R)
Why being so hostile when he is following the commands and seemingly accomplishing them with ease... go troll elsewhere, pig.
Posted Oct-7-2009 by "X-Tatic" (R)
Without dash cams these people would have no chance against these crooked cops. What an asshole he is..you couldn't even follow his instructions if you had practice.
Posted Oct-7-2009 by "Killkenny" (R)
I don't think I could pass these tests sober or not! the guy did not seem to be under the influence of alcohol either, but the cop is certainly a bit agressive with the requests.
Just as well it was on dash cam, otherwise the accused would be looking at the inside of a cell
Posted Oct-7-2009 by "graz" (R)
This asshole cop was looking for any reason to nail this guy. I would love to see anyone do it better then this guy did, especially when you have a dipshit yelling out you and all those flashing lights in your eyes.
Posted Oct-7-2009 by "hlabrake" (R)
another asshat in uniform ?
wow.
no way.
Posted Oct-7-2009 by "2daloo" (R)
This cop is an asshole.
Posted Oct-7-2009 by "bardville" (R)
Contempt of dick cop. Main thing against the guy is he did not follow the instructions. Though he did not follow the instructions very well, he seem sober.
Posted Oct-7-2009 by "Plox" (R)
These tests are designed to for failure drunk or sober. The way he is speaking to the driver is his was of showing that the driver had difficulty in following simple instructions. This cop is definately being hostile from the onset. What do you expect from Chicago or Illinois for that matter. That whole state is F'ed up.
Posted Oct-7-2009 by "juggie472" (R)
one one hundred thousand million billion
two one hundred thousand million billion
three one hundred thousand million billion
four one hundred thousand million billion
five one hundred thousand million billion.
now squat and squawk like a duck!
now recite, ini mini miny moe catch a .....
now, how do they put the caramel into a Cadbury Bar?
Posted Oct-7-2009 by "whatduh" (R)
**** da police. we give an uneducated person authority and a gun and we act surprised when they turn out to be just as bad as the ****ers they are paid to protect us from.
Posted Oct-7-2009 by "babieshappen" (R)
Stupid donut pusher! Where are all those LL cop-sucking trolls now? I was sure they would make another stupid "I see nothing wrong with the officer's action", or "well done, officer!" comments?
Posted 1 day ago by "caddy56" (R)