Crime & Safety
Skokie Ex-Cop Michael Hart Pleads Not Guilty In Battery Case
Cook County prosecutors charged him with felonies after he forcibly shoved Cassandra Feuerstein, who hit a cement bench and broke bones in her face, they said.
Michael Hart, the former Skokie police officer charged with felony official misconduct and aggravated battery, pleaded not guilty Friday morning in Cook County court at the Leighton center, said his attorney, Jed Stone.
Earlier: Skokie Accepts Officer Hart's resignation, after seeking to fire him
Earlier: Skokie Police Officer Arrested, Charged With Felony In Feuerstein Case
On Oct. 30, Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez' office charged Hart for a March 10 incident in which it said he forcibly shoved Cassandra Feuerstein, a Chicago woman he was processing for DUI in the Skokie police station lockup, and "the force of the shove propelled the woman across the cell causing her face and head to slam into an unpadded concrete bench. The face-first impact with the concrete fractured the woman’s right orbital bone, loosened some of her teeth and opened a deep cut on her cheek," according to a State's Attorney's office statement.
Her cheekbone required reconstructive surgery and a titanium plate, and her lawyer said she has vision and dental problems, including loose teeth and difficulty in eating, her attorney, Torri Hamilton, said.
Stone, Hart's attorney, said he obtained information related to the case, including police reports and CDs, at Friday's hearing. Hart's next hearing will be Jan. 17 at the Leighton courthouse at 26th and California, Chicago.
See the embedded video from WGN-TV news.
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