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Bartender beating: Cop convicted in attack of female bartender that was caught on videotape

Judge rejects officer's claims of self-defense

By Matthew Walberg | Tribune reporter

June 3, 2009

A Chicago police officer faces up to 5 years in prison after a judge Tuesday convicted him of aggravated battery for the infamous beating of a female bartender that was captured on videotape and aired widely.

Cook County Circuit Judge John J. Fleming rejected Officer Anthony Abbate's claims that he acted in self-defense while off duty in 2007 when he threw the bartender to the floor of a Northwest Side tavern and repeatedly punched and kicked her.

In testifying Tuesday, Abbate, who stands 6 foot 1 and weighs more than 250 pounds, contended he retaliated against the bartender, Karolina Obrycka, after she threw him into a shelf, causing him to hit his head. He had stepped behind the bar without permission at Jesse's Short Stop Inn.

"She tried to stop him, and she used reasonable force," Fleming said of Obrycka, who is 5 foot 3 and 125 pounds. "His own momentum, with a little help from Karolina Obrycka, caused the fall. But that did not justify his actions afterward, which were directly out of proportion."

The case hung on the security videotape, which had sparked outrage, contributed to the sudden retirement of Police Supt. Philip Cline and prompted an overhaul of the agency that investigates allegations of police misconduct.

The video, played repeatedly during the two-day bench trial, shows the drunken officer go behind the bar after already having been told to leave by Obrycka. As she pushed and pulled at him, Abbate appeared to shrug her off. He then suddenly fell or was pulled off balance, crashing back into the bar, his head bouncing hard off a shelf support.

Abbate slammed Obrycka against the bar, then violently threw her to the floor. He repeatedly kicked and punched her on the floor as she struggled to evade the blows. He held her by one hand as he took full swings at her head with his right fist.

Abbate testified he felt threatened when he fell into the wall.

"Did you feel in danger when she grabbed you from behind, body-slammed you up against the wall and nearly took you to the floor?" asked his lawyer, Peter Hickey.

"Yes," Abbate said.

"Were you going to stand there and let her hurt you some more?" Hickey asked.

"No," Abbate replied.

Later on cross-examination, Abbate had to withstand a withering, sarcasm-tinged series of questions from Assistant State's Atty. LuAnn Snow.

"So you felt you were in physical danger from Karolina Obrycka?" Snow asked.

"Yes, when she threw me against the wall and I hit my head," Abbate huffed.

He admitted he felt in no danger, however, when he kicked and punched her or when he tossed a garbage can as he left the bar.

Earlier Tuesday, after the state rested its case, the judge acquitted Abbate of two counts of official misconduct. The judge cited testimony by Obrycka that Abbate had never identified himself as a police officer.

The acquittal on those charges could save the 12-year veteran's pension. Abbate has been suspended without pay, and a police spokesman said the department is seeking to fire him.

Abbate and attorneys from both sides declined to comment after the verdict because of a gag order issued by the judge.

Tribune reporter Angela Rozas also contributed to this report.

mwalberg@tribune.com