Federal Judge Cites Police 'Code of Silence'

Judge: Police 'Code of Silence' in Bar Beating
ABC-WLS Chicago by Chuck Goudie  -  February 23, 2012

CHICAGO, IL - A bartender who was beaten by a Chicago police officer will have her day in court, according to a ruling by a federal judge. The federal judge's ruling Thursday in Chicago gives credence to what is known as "the blue curtain," an understanding between police officers that they should cover for each other unconditionally and that testimony against a fellow cop amounts to betrayal of their bond. It is the underbelly of a police subculture that is rarely exposed to the light of day. Read Judge St. Eve's Ruling Five years ago, an off-duty and drunk Chicago Police Officer Anthony Abbate Jr. went off on the 125-pound bartender who refused to serve him any more alcohol. Video of the barroom attack went viral on the internet. Abbate was convicted of aggravated battery, sentenced to two years probation for the brutal attack and thrown off the police force. The victim, Karolina Obrycka, filed a federal lawsuit against Officer Abbate and the City of Chicago. Obrycka claimed that after being beaten by Abbate she was also victimized by a police code of silence that insulated Abbate. City attorneys moved to have the suit thrown out, but on Thursday, Judge Amy St. Eve ruled the civil case may move forward. In the ruling, Judge St. Eve cites numerous pieces of evidence that a code of silence exists within the Chicago Police Department; including Abbate's phone calls to other officers and detectives after the incident to enlist their help in covering up his misconduct. According to the judge, "there is evidence in the record that Abbate's conduct triggered the code of silence...a reasonable jury could infer that these numerous telephone calls...constituted an effort to protect Abbate from police brutality allegations or to cover-up Abbate's misconduct." While punching and kicking the tiny bartender who had refused his drink order, Officer Abbate said something which characterized the blue curtain he would later try to pull over his misdeed. Abbate said, "Nobody tells me what to do."


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Bartender: Officer Who Attacked Was Protected By ‘Code Of Silence’ 
CBS by Mike Krauser - February 2, 2012

CHICAGO, IL (CBS) — The claim that Chicago Police officers practice a code of silence to protect fellow cops is up in federal court again, this time in connection to the infamous case of former officer Anthony Abbate. As WBBM Newsradio’s David Roe reports, a federal court jury will hear the allegation from bartender Karolina Obrycka, after Abbate was caught on video brutally beating her back in 2007 at the Northwest Side bar where she worked. Obrycka is now suing Abbate and the City of Chicago. U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve ruled that the jury in her lawsuit will hear the allegation about the code of silence. In an earlier filing, Obrycka said she told officers who responded after the beating that she was attacked by Abbate, and she gave the officers his full name. She said it was all caught on tape. But Obrycka claims the officers officers omitted Abbate’s name from the report because they didn’t want to deal with him. The City of Chicago is disputing that Obyrcka provided Abbate’s name, but acknowledges she did say her attacker was a police officer, and that it was caught on tape. The responding officers later said they couldn’t recall if they knew at the time the attacker was a cop. Both were disciplined, but the city denies they lied so as to protect a fellow police officer. The city did admit that the Independent Police Review Authority did find the officers violated a department rule, but didn’t specify what penalty, if any, they received. Abbate attacked Obrycka, who is half his size, on Feb. 19, 2007, when she refused to serve him more drinks at Jesse’s Shorstop Inn, 5425 W. Belmont Ave. Abbate was initially charged with simple battery, but the charges were upgraded to felony aggravated battery after the surveillance video of the attack went became a national sensation. He was also accused of trying to bribe Obrycka to keep quiet. While Abbate’s actions had few defenders, some, including many rank-and-file police officers, said the attack only constituted simple battery and that the charges were only upgraded because Abbate was a police officer. The fallout from the attack eventually led Supt. Phil Cline to resign. He was replaced by FBI veteran Jody Weis, who in turn was supplanted by current Supt. Garry McCarthy. Observers also complained when Criminal Court Judge John Fleming sentenced Abbate to probation and spared him prison time in 2009. Abbate was fired from the Police Department when he was convicted.