On Tuesday, June 23, 2009, off-duty police officer Anthony Abbate, 40, was given 130 hours of community service, two years probation, anger management classes and a curfew of 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. for beating up a bartender because she wouldn’t serve him more drinks. The beating was videotaped.
On Monday, June 22, 2009, R&B recording artist Chris Brown, 20, was given about 1,400 hours of community service and has to stay away from his pop artist (ex?) girlfriend Rihanna for five years due to allegedly beating her up. There was no videotape on the scene, and the only proof citizens could observe of the aftermath was a TMZ photo release of a beaten-up Rihanna.
But the only person I know who was surprised by Abbate’s sentencing was my good friend and Chicago Defender reporter Kathy Chaney. I said from the very beginning that that man was not going to face any prison time. Kathy told me she knew too many honest police officers and that Abbate wouldn’t get off. But when he didn’t, Kathy got my “I told you so!” face. And while I love to be right, I would’ve gladly been happy to be wrong in this case.
At 40 years old, Abbate should know better. As a police officer, he should know better. As a man, he should know better. While I couldn’t see what happened between Chris Brown and Rihanna, Abbate’s videotaped beating of 125-pound Karolina Obrycka who weighs half his size, was seen worldwide.
A police officer called Chicago radio station, WGCI, this morning to say that we should look at Abbate as a citizen and not an officer because “he was off duty.” Frankly, Ms. Officer, I don’t care. A police officer, regardless of being off duty, is still supposed to respect the law, and beating the hell out of an innocent bartender is not justified in any legal book. Abbate’s argument was that he was acting in self-defense because Obrycka pushed him. Okay, she pushed him away from the bar. It wasn’t like she hopped over the counter like Superwoman, started talking about she was Queen Bartender and began smacking folks. She was doing her job—he’d had enough to drink, and she wanted him to cut it out.
Yes, he was off duty, but if a crime had went down in that bar and a police officer said, “Sorry folks, I’m off duty. Better do what the criminal says,” the female police officer who called WGCI would probably be up in arms.
I will admit to having a slightly pessimistic view about police officers being that I went to Morgan Park High School and watched countless officers harass teenagers, including me. Do I believe all police officers are terrible? No. But when I’d had enough experiences seeing some officers in rare form, it did put a bitter taste in my mouth that hasn’t gone away in my adult years.
Am I surprised by the verdict? No. But I will be surprised if former FBI official Jody Weiss doesn’t get his way—Weiss wants Abbate fired, and so do I. Let him be off duty permanently.
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In photo: Chicago police officer Anthony Abbate walks out of the Cook County courthouse after receiving probation in Chicago, Tuesday, June, 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Beat)
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