🚨 CPD SERGEANT CHARGED AFTER VIDEO ALLEGEDLY SHOWS HIM PUNCHING TEEN GIRL

730 BOOM RADIO | CHICAGO

A viral video involving a Chicago police sergeant and a 17-year-old girl has now moved from social media to the criminal justice system.

Chicago Police Sgt. Jeremy Sikorski, 45, has been charged in connection with an encounter in which he is accused of punching the teenager during an arrest on the Southwest Side.

According to WGN's report, the incident happened near Merrimac Avenue in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood. Video circulating online appears to show an officer striking the teen as officers attempted to take her into custody.

And once that video hit the internet?

Chicago had QUESTIONS.

Because when the person involved is 17 years old and the person throwing the alleged punch is a police sergeant, people are going to want to know exactly what happened before, during and after those few seconds caught on camera.

🚨 NOW THE SERGEANT IS FACING A CRIMINAL CASE

Sikorski has been accused of criminal wrongdoing over the encounter. The charge is an allegation, and he is entitled to due process as the case proceeds.

That distinction matters.

A viral video can show an important piece of an incident, but investigators and ultimately the courts have to determine the complete circumstances and whether prosecutors can prove a crime.

The Cook County State's Attorney's Office has a specialized Law Enforcement Review Unit responsible for reviewing investigations involving alleged criminal conduct by police officers and determining when criminal prosecution is appropriate. Cook County State's Attorney

But Lady Red has another question:

How did we get HERE?

Not to a complaint.

Not to somebody saying, “That officer was too rough.”

We're talking about an encounter captured on video involving a teenage girl that became serious enough for a Chicago police sergeant to end up criminally charged.

And before anybody starts turning this into Team Police versus Team Teenager, NOPE.

We can hold two thoughts in our heads at the same time.

Police officers sometimes have to physically restrain people who resist arrest or create a dangerous situation.

AND

Wearing a badge does not give anybody unlimited authority to use whatever force they want.

That's exactly why investigations exist.

📱 THE CAMERA CHANGED EVERYTHING

Years ago, an incident like this might have ended with two completely different versions of what happened.

Now everybody has a phone.

That doesn't mean a short video automatically tells the entire story, but it can provide evidence investigators didn't have decades ago.

So this case shouldn't be decided by Facebook comments, TikTok detectives or somebody's uncle typing in ALL CAPS.

Let the evidence talk.

If the force was legally justified, the evidence needs to establish that.

If it wasn't, the evidence needs to establish that too.

But when a 17-year-old child and a police sergeant end up at the center of a video like this, Chicago deserves a complete accounting of what happened.

Because accountability isn't supposed to depend on which uniform somebody is wearing or which side of the camera they're standing on.

We'll be watching this one.

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IT HITS DIFFERENT. EVERY TIME. BOOM! 💥