COOK COUNTY, IL – Correctional Officer Reginald Roberson, 52, has been charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct following a Cook County Sheriff’s Office investigation of an incident in the Cook County Jail, Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced today.
The Sheriff’s Office installed cameras, over a decade ago, throughout the jail to ensure the safety and security of staff and individuals in custody. Additionally, the Sheriff has put several processes in place to identify any instances of the excessive use of force or misconduct. This incident was brought to the attention of the Sheriff’s Office of Professional Review (OPR) via those processes, including through a jail supervisor reviewing camera footage.
In this incident Roberson placed handcuffs over his knuckles and struck a 29-year-old individual in custody multiple times in the jail’s receiving area on Dec. 29, 2021, according to an investigation by the Sheriff’s OPR. The individual in custody was treated for minor injuries.
The Sheriff’s Office presented the case to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office for charging, which approved aggravated battery and official misconduct charges, both Class 3 felonies. Roberson turned himself in to OPR investigators this morning, and a judge issued a $20,000 D-bond during his court appearance today at the George N. Leighton Criminal Court Building.
Roberson, who was hired in March of 1999, was de-deputized and moved away from working with individuals in custody during the criminal investigation. The Office is seeking his termination through the Sheriff’s Merit Board.
The public is reminded that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty by the government in a court of law.
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