Officer Charged in On-Duty Assault of Two Women

South Bend police officer charged in assaulting two women while on duty
WSJV - FOX 28 by Adam Ziegler - October 23, 2011

South Bend, Indiana - A South Bend police officer is accused of fondling two different women, while under the guise of enforcing the law. Police say 26-year-old Jeffery Chester has been relieved of his duty while the case plays out in court. One of the women says Chester approached her in her car at Potawatami Park on September 1st. According to court papers, she told police Officer Chester went to search her then quote, "cupped her buttocks over her dress with his hand"... and "flipped her dress up with his hand and exposed her bare skin, including her breasts." The second woman told police Chester pulled her over at the corner of South St. Louis and Wayne Street on September 30th and that he quote "touched her right breast with his left hand" and "tried to kiss her." The woman says Chester told her he wouldn't take her to jail for her suspended license if she let him touch her. "Exerting your authority to accomplish some sort of crime of this kind is definitely, it adds to the gravity of this situation," says Captain Phil Trent of the South Bend Police Department. The St. Joseph County Prosecutor says 26-year-old Jeffery Chester of Mishawaka is facing two counts of Official Misconduct and two counts of Battery in the case. Chester was being held on $10,000 bond.