Former Chicago Cop Gets 3 Years For Assaulting Elderly Man at Oak Lawn Gas Station

A former Chicago police officer was handed a three-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections for beating up an elderly man at an Oak Lawn gas station, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office announced.

David Barrett, 59, was convicted by a jury of aggravated battery of a senior citizen. He was taken into custody immediately after his sentencing by Cook County Judge Colleen Hyland in Bridgeview on Oct. 16.

During the early afternoon hours of Dec. 12, 2013, the 89-year-old victim was waiting in a long line at the Shell gas station at 106th Street and Cicero Avenue. Prosecutors said that Barrett, who was off duty at the time, burst into the gas station and began cursing at two cashiers working behind the counter.

The elderly man calmly asked Barrett to stop yelling. Barrett then punched the man, knocking him to the floor. Barrett continued to scream at bystanders for several minutes and eventually walked out, court records said.

A witness followed Barrett out to his car and wrote down his license plate number, which was eventually turned over to Oak Lawn police.

Oak Lawn police located the former Chicago cop through his plate number, and he was arrested and charged for the assault.

Barrett was admitted into the Stateville Correctional Northern Reception Center on Oct. 17, according to IDOC records. A booking photo was not available.