A local police officer is accused of brutality for a seventh time. He's now racked up lawsuits in all of those cases, and has been caught on camera twice allegedly using excessive force. CBS 2 Investigator Dave Savini exposes an officer accused of "Abusing the Badge."
John Thompson, a champion pool player, was playing a game in a Round Lake Heights bar in March of 2008. That's when he says an out-of control police officer brutally beat him. It was caught on a bar security camera.
"He punched me full force," Thompson said. "It hurt enough to knock me down."
The 37-year-old truck driver says he accidentally bumped a female customer during a shot.
"I tried to apologize to her, but she didn't want to accept my apology," Thompson said.
Thompson continued to play pool. Meanwhile police officers start talking to his friend.
Then as he's about to take a shot, Round Lake Heights Police Officer Scott Crawford grabs the stick.
"It just happened so quick, I can't believe the officer punched me," Thompson said.
The punch threw Thompson to the ground, and two more officers from another department, Round Lake Beach, tried to hold him there.
"They were stepping on me, kneeing me in the back," Thompson said.
Even though they had three officers on top of Thompson, a fourth whips out a Taser gun and fires.
"I got hit in the chest here, right where my heart is, I got hit here," Thompson said.
Then, from a different camera, you can see a light flashing. That's yet another officer Tasering Thompson while he's on the ground.
"They hit me in the chest, they hit me in the leg," Thompson said.
Thompson showed CBS 2 his Taser wounds and his bruised face from Crawford's punch, but it's not the first time Crawford's been caught on camera punching someone.
In 2001, Crawford, as a Waukegan police officer, was caught on camera hitting a handcuffed man in the back of his squad car. That man sued, and the case settled.
Crawford next became a Marengo police officer, and again was accused of police brutality.
"He tackled me to the ground," said Marengo teen Nicole Surber.
Nicole Surber, and Brian and Kevin Gaughn, are among the five residents who are suing Marengo for police brutality; all the cases involve Scott Crawford.
"I had a cerebral concussion right here," Brian Gaughn said.
"I can't stop thinking about what happened, I was terrified," Kevin Gaughn said.
The 2 Investigators discovered that when Crawford applied for his Marengo job, he checked 'no' when asked if he had ever been involved in a lawsuit, despite being sued in Waukegan.
Back to Thompson's case: Crawford arrested him for aggravated battery of a police officer saying Thompson hit him with a pool stick.
But Thompson's lawyer Paul Oleksak says watch the video and you'll see Crawford lied about being struck. And a judge convicted Thompson on a reduced charge of disorderly conduct.
"How can somebody like Officer Crawford continue to maintain a job as a police officer?" Oleksak said. "It's absolutely incredulous that he can go from Waukegan to Marengo to Round Lake Heights, and still keep his job."
CBS 2 tried talking to Crawford, but he called the police on us.
"I refer all questions to my attorney," Crawford said.
"I don't think it's coincidental, I think he's he a hothead," Thompson said. "He's got a bad temper and he shouldn't be an officer."
John Thompson has filed a lawsuit against all of the officers and both police departments involved in his case.
In an e-mail, the attorney representing Round Lake Heights Police said Thompson became verbally and physically aggressive towards Crawford and that Crawford denies he acted unreasonably.
Round Lake Beach's attorney has not returned our call.
The Marengo cases are ongoing.
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