A Chicago cop has been charged with felony battery with a firearm and official misconduct more than a year after she shot an unarmed man in the back.
Melvina Bogard, 32, turned herself in to investigators on Thursday morning to face charges over the shooting of 33-year-old Ariel Roman, whom she injured in February 2020 as he fled from arrest for walking between train cars on the CTA red line.
She was released upon an order from Cook County Judge Susana Ortiz after she made a written promise to appear in court, according to a news release from The Cook County State's Attorney Office.
The state's attorney's office also states the aggravated battery charge carries a sentence of six to 30 years in prison and the official misconduct charge carries a sentence ranging from probation to five years in prison.
Chicago cop Melvina Bogard, 32, (left) was charged with felony battery on Thursday for the February 2020 shooting of 33-year-old Ariel Roman (right). Bogard shot Roman in the back after he fled from arrest for allegedly walking between train cars
A bystander recorded video (pictured) of the moment Bogard shot Roman in the back
Her next hearing is scheduled for August 18.
A video was recorded by Michael McDunnah on February 28, 2020, and showed Bogard and another officer, Bernard Butler, pursuing Roman, a short-order cook who was suspected of violating a city ordinance by walking from one train car to another.
The footage shows officers chasing Roman and Bogard shooting him at the foot of the escalator and then shooting him the back from about 10 feet away.
Bogard and Butler stopped to talk to Roman after they noticed he was walking between train cars at a CTA red line station
A cellphone video was shot by Michael McDunnah on February 28 of last year as it showed Roman being held down by Bogard and other officer Bernard Butler
The cellphone video shot by McDunnah was made public almost immediately and received national attention, as did footage from police body cameras and Chicago Transit Authority surveillance cameras released two months later.
McDunnah told ABC 7 Chicago: 'He was resisting but he was not violent, as far as I could see, and he was unarmed'
'At some point the male officer said "shoot him".
'The female officer at that point, I think, pulled out her mace and maced him in the face.'
'That was the point at which the female officer fired her weapon.'
Roman survived the shooting and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital after mass transit officers intervened.
He filed a federal lawsuit after he allegedly claimed that Bogard and the other officer, Bernard Butler had 'chased, tackled, pepper-sprayed, tasered and shot twice.'
Roman also had surgery for bullet wounds to the abdomen and buttocks but did not face charges for his actions, according to Cook County prosecutors.
The announcement of charges was not surprising given the actions of the then-police superintendent and the comments made by his spokesman and the mayor.
Interim Superintendent Charlie Beck signaled his concern almost immediately and took the unusual step of requesting that prosecutors be sent directly to the Red Line L station where the shooting happened.
At the time, Anthony Guglielmi, Beck's spokesman, said that while the superintendent 'doesn´t want to rush to judgment,' the incident raised significant tactical concerns about the officers' actions.
Beck took the unusual step of stripping the officers of their police powers pending the outcome of an investigation.
Officers are normally placed on desk duty if they are involved in a shooting.
The concerns were only deepened when extended security and body-camera footage was released of Bogard shooting Roman in the back on the escalator.
Roman was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital after mass transit officers intervened
The security and police bodycam footage deepened concerns as Bogard and Butler were stripped of their powers during the investigation of the incident
Police Superintendent David Brown recommended that Bogard be fired to the police board in April.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot expressed her support for Beck´s decision to send prosecutors to the scene as well as her concerns about what she called the 'extremely disturbing' cellphone video.
Lightfoot tweeted that although 'one perspective does not depict the entirety of the incident, the video is extremely disturbing and the actions by these officers are deeply concerning.'
'To ensure full transparency and accountability, I support Superintendent (Charlie) Beck's decision to contact the State's Attorney due to the potential criminal nature of this incident,' she tweeted.
The shooting came the same day that Lightfoot and the department announced a safety plan for the city's rail system amid a spike in crime, including more officers on trains and at stations.
A spike in crime on Chicago's rail system and some recent high-profile outbursts of violence prompted the city's police department to put 50 more officers in trains and on platforms and assign four detectives to investigate nothing but Chicago Transit Authority crimes.
The number of officers now assigned to the Mass Transit Unit is 250.
One of Roman's lawyers Greg Kulis also applauded the decision to press criminal charges, even if it took a year and a half.
Kulis told The Chicago Tribune: 'I think it’s very, very clear in reviewing the video that a crime was committed by (Bogard). And I think it’s quite clear that Mr. Roman’s civil rights were violated in the actions that Officer Bogard took.'
He also said that Roman is still suffering from 'internal' mental issues related to the incident and may require another surgery.
The Chicago Police Department said today that the police board has not yet made a decision and declined to comment on Bogard's arrest.
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