Lengthy suspensions are being recommended by a police watchdog agency for three Chicago police officers over the way they conducted a traffic stop.
A suspension was also recommended for their sergeant for the way he handled a citizen complaint.
In September 2024, Desmen Northington had just run into a Gold Coast store and left his car in a 15-minute standing zone with his flashers on.
When he returned and prepared to drive away, he turned off the hazard lights and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, COPA, says three officers stopped him and acted improperly. They pulled him out of his car and called him names, even went through his trunk and pulled out a closed bottle of tequila and dumped it on the street.
For that, COPA recommended Officers Joseph Vecchio and Nicu Tohatan each receive 120 day suspensions. The third officer, Mario Fuentes, would have received the same, but he resigned from the CPD in February 2026, according to the COPA report.
A 90-day suspension was recommended for their sergeant, Erick Seng for his mishandling of Northington’s complaint.
Then-Supt. Snelling agreed with the suspension lengths.
The city of Chicago reached an $80,000 settlement with Northington over his lawsuit against the city.
See the COPA report and then-Supt. Larry Snelling's support of suspensions here:
https://www.chicagocopa.org/case/2024-0007385/
COPA says officers acted improperly
COPA says officers acted improperly
