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. In late October, Cook County prosecutors charged Hart with aggravated battery and official misconduct.
Mayor George Van Dusen said in the news release that village officials expect officers to treat people with "the utmost professionalism."
"When officers fall short of that expectation, it is our responsibility to take proper action, as the village has done in this case," he said.
In an episode caught on video in March, Hart shoved Cassandra Feuerstein from behind into a police station cell after the officer became irate that she wouldn't look into the camera for a booking photo after a drunken driving arrest, prosecutors said. Feuerstein, of Chicago, fell and hit her face on the bench, breaking her eye socket and loosening teeth, prosecutors said.
Feuerstein, who pleaded guilty to drunken driving, is suing the village and Hart.
Hart's attorney, Jed Stone, said that he believes people are judging the officer too harshly based on a video circulated widely online. Stone said what Hart did was not "an intentional act" nor a crime.
"The citizens of Skokie have lost a good cop," he said. "I would urge the public to stop, look at all of the evidence, not make a judgment until they've seen everything and understand that for 19 years this man served the people of Skokie and served them with honor and distinction."
Stone said that Hart realizes his law enforcement career is over and "wants to move on."