Cop loses high post over son

[Pedro56]

August 17, 2006

BY FRANK MAIN AND NATASHA KORECKI Staff Reporters Advertisement

A Chicago Police commander was stripped of his position Wednesday as the department investigates whether he interfered with officers in the arrest of his son -- and two officers in the Special Operations unit have been relieved of their police powers in a separate corruption probe, sources said.

Cmdr. John Matthews allegedly became involved in a physical altercation with officers over his son's arrest in the Belmont District on the North Side, sources said.

His son, Miles Matthews, 20, was arrested earlier Sunday on a charge of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon after officers stopped a sport utility vehicle in the 3000 block of North Damen and discovered he was carrying a loaded handgun, according to a spokeswoman for the Cook County state's attorney's office.

Reassigned to lower job

Officers stopped the SUV because they suspected shots had been fired from it. Miles Matthews resisted arrest and officers used pepper spray to subdue him, authorities said.

Police Supt. Phil Cline has reassigned John Matthews to a noncommand position, said Monique Bond, a police spokeswoman. He was commander of the Calumet District on the Far South Side. Matthews, who is not charged with criminal wrongdoing, could not be reached for comment.

In 2001, then-Supt. Terry Hillard demoted one of his top deputies, Jose Velez, over allegations that Velez tried to pressure officers under his command to fix a criminal case against his son. Velez was stripped of his command rank, too.

More indictments expected



On Tuesday, meanwhile, two officers in the citywide Special Operations unit were stripped of their police powers, but the officers have not been charged criminally, sources said.

Bond would not discuss the allegations against the officers or identify them. More officers will likely be stripped of their police powers in the investigation of the elite unit, sources said.

The corruption probe comes a year after five Chicago police officers were charged federally with conspiring to rob drug dealers of cash and drugs on the South Side. Officer Broderick Jones, nicknamed "Thirsty" on the street, intends to plead guilty as early as Friday to avoid a prison term of up to 117 years, said his lawyer, Rick Halprin.

"My prediction is, this is a movie that doesn't have an end yet," Halprin said. "Based on all the material I've read, there's many more indictments coming out of this case."

Court documents filed in the case also indicate other officers could be implicated. One of Jones' co-defendants, Officer Corey Flagg, has pleaded guilty.

Contributing: Lisa Donovan

fmain@suntimes.com

[Pedro56]

I wish the firemen would step in it again to get the heat off of us.