A Cook County judge has acquitted a Chicago police officer who shot and wounded an unarmed man during an arrest at the CTA Red Line’s Grand station in 2020.
Officer Melvina Bogard had argued she was trying to protect herself when she shot Ariel Roman on Feb. 28, 2020, but Roman’s attorney had contended ahead of the trial that the officer’s claim “completely contradicts the clear video evidence.”
Judge Joseph Claps said prosecutors failed to prove their case and that Roman was not credible on the stand.
Roman was shot in the hip and buttocks shortly after Bogard’s partner, Officer Bernard Butler, yelled “shoot him,” according to prosecutors. Butler was not charged in the incident.
Bogard’s attorney Tim Grace argued that Roman “had enough cocaine in his system to tranquilize … a horse” and refused to follow the officers’ directions. At one point, Roman “bent” the officers’ handcuffs and tried to push the officers to the edge of the platform, he said.
Bogard and Butler had been detailed to a unit to prevent crime on the CTA when they spotted Roman moving between cars while the train was running, according to prosecutors.
Roman told the officers he suffered from anxiety and was trying to get away from a commuter who was bothering him. When the train stopped at the Grand station, the officers told Roman to get off and repeatedly asked for his ID, prosecutors said.
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A struggle followed and, when Roman wouldn’t follow the officers’ commands, Bogard repeatedly told Roman to “stop resisting” when she tried to handcuff him, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Ken Goff.
Both officers deployed their stun guns early in the encounter, and Bogard also used her pepper spray, which had an effect on Butler and Roman, Goff said. The officers’ radio calls for assistance wouldn’t transmit in the underground tunnel, he noted.
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Grace seized on that detail, pointing out that the officers were not provided with radios capable of communicating Bogard’s requests for backup.
Roman was eventually able to stand up before he was held by Butler, who commanded Bogard to “shoot him,” Goff said. Bogard allegedly placed her handcuffs in her duty belt and pulled her gun on Roman as she stepped back.
Roman, who began wiping his eyes, stepped toward Bogard when she fired the first shot into his chest, Goff said. Roman then ran up an escalator toward the station’s main concourse when Bogard allegedly fired the second shot, striking him in the buttocks.
Roman was taken into custody after the shooting and charged with resisting arrest and drug violations. Those charges were later dropped.
Bogard is active in her church and comes from a family of cops, including her mother, who recently retired from the CPD after 25 years, according to Grace.
Bogard had never been disciplined as an officer, Grace stressed. She and Butler, who were hired in 2017, were fairly new to the department at the time of the shooting.