A Chicago police officer is being accused of falsely charging almost two-dozen drivers with driving under the influence. And now they are using the own officer’s own dash cam video to support their claim.
On police dash cam video, Michael Vaughn appears to be passing a field sobriety test. He does everything the officer asks him to do, but he is still arrested.
In the alcohol and drug report filed by Chicago police officer, Richard Fiorito, Vaughn is written up as too drunk to even complete some of the tests.
“The more DUI arrests, the more court appearances, the more the officer is paid, that’s what this is about,” said attorney Jon Erickson.
Erickson says this is not an isolated incident.
Already 21 of his clients have filed federal civil rights suits against Fiorito. Oscar Faezel is one of them.
“I took the Breathalyzer test, I passed and I was still arrested. The two people that were intoxicated he allowed to take the car and go home,” said Faezel.
Officer Fiorito continues to work out of the 23rd district, which includes a large portion of the city’s gay and lesbian community.
The criminal justice system has failed gays and lesbians traveling in the 23rd district which is the heart of Chicago’s gay entertainment district,” said Andy Thayer of the Gay Liberation Network.
The only reason this video exists, Erickson says, is because Fiorito was required to carry the camera on his squad car because of the volume of complaints against him.
Both the Chicago Police Department and the Cook County States Attorney’s office confirm they are conducting investigations into the allegations against officer Fiorito. His attorney says those allegations are false, unfounded and patently frivolous.