Drunken Chicago Officer Shot at Off-Duty Suburban Cop: Prosecutor

A Chicago cop has been accused of firing several shots at a suburban police officer and another man after they tried to pull him over for drunken driving, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office announced.

John Gorman, 53, appeared for a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building on a charge of aggravated discharge of a firearm in connection with an incident that unfolded last year year on Chicago’s far Southwest Side in the Mt. Greenwood neighborhood.

According to the charges, Gorman, a full-time Chicago police officer since 2001, was driving his personal car near 111th Street and Pulaski Road in the Mt. Greenwood neighborhood during the afternoon of Nov. 23, 2014, when the two men noticed him driving erratically.

The men, one of whom is a Merrionette Park police officer, decided to follow Gorman after he nearly struck a flower vendor, who had to duck out of Gorman’s path to avoid being run over, prosecutors said.

Both men followed Gorman’s Buick down 111th Street to get his license plate number, watching the Chicago cop purportedly weaving in and out of traffic and driving recklessly.

Eventually, Gorman stopped at a traffic light. The Merrionette Park police officer left his truck and approached Gorman, showing his badge. Prosecutors said the suburban cop also noticed an open bottle of beer in Gorman’s hand as he ignored several requests to roll down his window.

Gorman drove off when the light turned green. The two men continued to follow Gorman’s car while reporting details of the near pedestrian accident to the 911 dispatcher, prosecutors alleged.

Prosecutors said Gorman pulled over near 111th Street and Prospect Avenue, two blocks away from the 22nd District Morgan Park police station. Gorman got out of the Buick, along with another off-duty Chicago police officer who was riding in Gorman’s car as a passenger.

The two men had also pulled over and were sitting in their truck behind Gorman’s car. The criminal complaint alleges Gorman faced the men’s vehicle with weapon in hand and fired five shots at the men’s truck. They ducked down and drove away from Gorman to avoid being shot.

None of the bullets hit the off-duty Merrionette Park police officer or the other man. Prosecutors said a bullet hole was later found in the rear bumper of the vehicle. Officers also recovered five .380 auto caliber cartridge cases down the street where the shooting occurred.

The shells were turned over to the Illinois State Police Crime Lab, where ballistics testing determined they were fired from Gorman’s .380- caliber Ruger, prosecutors said.

The alleged targets immediately drove to the 22nd District police station, where they filed a police report and provided a description of Gorman’s vehicle. Further investigation revealed Gorman to be owner of the Buick and he was brought in for questioning, the criminal complaint said.

After allegedly initially refusing to submit to a Breathalyzer exam, Internal Affairs Division investigators were able to compel Gorman to take the exam for “administrative disciplinary purposes.”

More than five hours after the reported shooting, prosecutors said, Gorman was revealed to have a blood alcohol content of 0.07. He was subsequently charged with one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Gorman surrendered his weapon, which had one bullet left in its six-round magazine. He allegedly admitted to the arresting officers to firing the shots, the Sun-Times reported.

The Chicago police officer appeared before Judge Adam Bourgeois at 26th and California, where bail was set at $50,000. Records indicate he is being held at Cook County Jail.

During court on Tuesday, Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. berated the Chicago police officer, saying in an apparent reference to Tyshawn Lee killed last week in a gang dispute involving his father, that “one of those bullets could have hit a 9-year-old.”

Since 2001, Gorman has had 22 misconduct complaints filed against him, including the 2014 incident, according to the University of Chicago Law School’s police accountability database. Gorman was not disciplined for any of the complaints.

In 2006, the city settled a federal lawsuit which claimed Gorman and two other officers had used excessive force during an arrest, the Sun-Times stated.

The defendants denied any wrongdoing.

Gorman has reportedly been placed on desk duty since the shooting allegations last year.

Gorman is due back in court on Dec. 1. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.