Prosecutors: CPD officer broke senior citizen's hip in gas station dispute



By Jeremy Gorner and Patrick SvitekTribune reporters
8:20 p.m. CST, December 21, 2013

A Chicago police officer has been relieved of his police powers after being accused of breaking a senior citizen's hip when the officer shoved the man during an argument earlier this month.
David Barrett, a 20-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, was ordered held in lieu of $10,000 bond on Saturday on a charged of aggravated battery.
The incident happened while Barrett was off-duty Dec. 12 at a Shell gas station, 10601 S. Cicero Ave. in south suburban Oak Lawn, according to court records and prosecutors. 
Frustrated with a gas pump, Barrett went into the station and began screaming at the attendant, according to prosecutors. The 89-year-old man, who was standing in line with Barrett, told him to calm down, at which point Barrett pushed the senior citizen to the ground, prosecutors said.
The 89-year-old man broke his right hip and had to undergo surgery, according to court records. He also tore his right rotator cuff, a group of tendons and muscles in the shoulder.
Stuart Goldberg, Barrett's attorney, disputed that account in a bond hearing, arguing the 89-year-old man attacked Barrett first. Goldberg has asked that recorded tape of the incident be preserved.
Barrett, 58, who is assigned to the  Chicago Public Safety Headquarters, turned himself in to Oak Lawn police Thursday, authorities said.
Barrett has been relieved of his police powers, and his further status with the department is pending conditions of his bond, police spokesman Adam Collins said in an email.
Barrett's family declined to comment Saturday.


He is due back in court Tuesday.