Cop facing criminal charges, embroiled in civil rights lawsuit resigns

Last month, Skokie police officer Michael Hart was charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct after shoving a woman into a jail cell with such force that her injuries required reconstructive surgery. On November 15, 2013, Hart resigned.

According to The Chicago Tribune:

A Skokie police officer charged with shoving a woman face-first into a cell bench has resigned rather than face possible firing, village officials said.

Skokie officials had told Michael Hart that they would seek to fire him, and his resignation took effect Friday, according to a news release from the village. 

The incident occurred after police arrested Cassandra Feuerstein for drunk driving. At the jail, Officer Hart reportedly "became irate that [Feuerstein] wouldn't look into the camera for a booking photo[.]" Surveillance video shows Officer Hart shoving Feuerstein into a jail cell causing her to hit her face on a concrete bench inside the cell. Feuerstein reportedly broke an eye socket and lost teeth, and as a result she now has a titanium plate in her face.

As CRL&P has noted, Feuerstein has filed a civil rights lawsuit against Officer Hart alleging that he used execessive force (which seems pretty clear).

CRL&P related posts:

• Illinois county faces class-action suit for jail's allegedly illegal strip-search policy
• Women allege forcible strip searches violated their civil rights