Ex-Glenview Cop Cleared of Perjury in Drug Case

GLENVIEW, IL - A former Glenview police officer was cleared of perjury charges this week after a judge ruled he did not knowingly lie on the stand last year when testifying against a suspect facing drug charges. James Horn was acquitted by a Cook County judge on Wednesday for his false representation of the events surrounding the 2014 arrest of Joseph Sperling, according to a report from the Chicago Tribune.

Horn was one of five officers - three from Chicago and two from Glenview - involved in the traffic stop and arrest of Sperling. He was one of four who testified during Sperling’s trial that drugs were found on the suspect before he was handcuffed.

But lawyers for Sperling showed video during the trial that refuted the claims, at which time all charges against Sperling were dropped by a judge.

While Horn and Chicago Police Sgt. Jamas Padar were acquitted, the judge convicted Chicago Police Officer William Pruente, who filed the initial report in the Sperling case. The judge decided Pruente was aware he was including an incorrect order of events when filing the report.

The distinction between "knowingly false" statements and mistakes is what he said was the difference between guilt and innocence in the case.

Glenview Police Officer Theresa Urbanowski testified on behalf of Horn - who was fired by the department once the perjury charges were filed - calling him “honest.” Urbanowski was the other Glenview police officer involved in the Sperling arrest but avoided charges because she was able to change her testimony on the stand once the video was played.

Sperling, who police at the time of the 2014 arrest said was in possession of a pound of marijuana and mushrooms, was charged earlier this year in an alleged DUI crash in Morton Grove that killed 48-year-old Denise Caveda of Chicago.

More via the Chicago Tribune

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