A veteran Chicago Police officer of 29 years has been stripped of his police powers after video was posted online of him allegedly using a racial slur while at a Chicago bar.
Lt. Andrew Dakuras, 55, was identified by a fellow bar patron, Raheem, who posted the video to his personal Instagram page.
He recognized Dakuras as the same man who beat a Chicago Cubs fan so badly in 2016 that he needed to be hospitalized.
Now Dakuras is in the headlines once again while officials investigate fresh allegations of misconduct while off-duty.
Dakuras, right, was seen in a Chicago bar at the weekend remonstrating with another man
Lt. Andrew Dakuras, 55, was identified by a fellow bar patron who posted the video to his personal Instagram page
Raheem posted three clips to social media that showed two men in an altercation at a bar last weekend.
In one of the video clips, a man, identified as Dakuras, can be seen looking down the length of a bar, apparently angry at another man standing just feet away.
‘What the f*** bro?’ the man can be heard asking.
In a second clip, Dakuras, can be seen angrily screaming insults while aggressively pointing in the face of a man standing in front of him.
‘You’re fucking nobody, n****,’ the man appears to say.
As he is led away, a bystander can be heard saying that he had been ‘dropping N-bombs.’
Finally, in a third clip, Raheem identified Dakuras who was calm once again.
Dakuras could be seen getting up in the face of a another bar patron
In the first clip, another man is seen being dragged away after arguing with Dakuras
‘Ain’t you a police officer?’ he asks the police lieutenant who is dressed in plain clothes.
‘Not me, dude. I ain’t nobody, dude.’ Dakuras replies.
The Chicago Police Department has now confirmed the incident is under investigation by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, however the office refused to identify the officer or officers who were being investigated.
However, a spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department confirmed Lt. Andrew Dakuras was relieved of his police powers on Wednesday pending the outcome of the investigation.
‘I really didn’t know how to react because it’s like, I know they the police and he’s not talking to me, but it’s still affecting me. So it had me feeling in a weird position, like I’m upset and I don’t know how to direct my anger,’ Raheem said to Fox 32.
The footage was posted online by Raheem who said he was ‘uncomfortable’ at what he heard
Dakuras was honored, seen above, for rescuing a woman who was under attack in 2019
‘They need to actually pay attention to the complaints made. Pay attention to the officers they have. These are the people that are arresting our communities,’ Raheem said.
Three years ago, a federal jury found Dakuras used excessive force when a man was tackled and beaten during the Chicago Cubs’ World Series celebration in 2016.
Dakuras kicked and slammed the man’s head against the pavement during the celebration after the Cubs won Game 7 of the series.
The man was awarded $53,000 in damages. At that time, Dakuras had 73 complaints against him.
The 2021 ruling added to the the $278,000 the city has paid out to settle six previous lawsuits against Dakuras
Dakuras and other undercover officers were working in the Wrigleyville area the night in November 2016 when the Cubs defeated Cleveland, prompting a massive celebration outside Wrigley Field.
In 2019, video shows Dakuras, second from left, honored alongside two other officers
A federal jury in 2021 found in favor of Asher Kaufman in his lawsuit against then-Sgt. Andrew Dakuras. It awarded him more than $53,000 in damages after Dakuras tackled, punched and kicked him after the Cubs won the world series in 2016
During the trial Asher Kaufman testified that he and his girlfriend had joined the celebration outside a tavern near Wrigley when another Sgt. Joseph Mirus Jr. grabbed him and confiscated a half-pint of whiskey he’d bought at a nearby convenience store.
Kaufman said he thought Mirus was a bouncer at the bar and began to scuffle with him and Dakuras, both of whom were in plainclothes, before Dakuras grabbed Kaufman’s cellphone and ran off.
Kaufman said he chased Dakuras and had tackled him when several uniformed and plainclothes officers pounced on him.
He said Dakuras told him, ‘I love this part, free shots,’ and grabbed him by the hair, punched him in the face and the side of his head, jumped on him and slammed his head into the pavement. Kaufman was arrested and taken by Dakuras to a hospital for treatment.
He was charged with resisting arrest battery and drinking in a public way. In 2017 a judge found him guilty of a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest but found him not guilty on the battery and drinking in the public way counts.
But Dakuras’ police history hasn’t all been marred by turmoil. In 2019, video shows he was honored alongside two other officers for rescuing a woman who was under attack.
