Chicago Police

Ex-Cop Charged in Andersonville Bar Fight

A former Chicago police sergeant has been charged with aggravated battery after beating three men in a 2018 Andersonville bar fight.

Eric Elkins, 45, was off-duty with friends at the @tmosphere Bar in Andersonville on Sept. 29 when he beat two men so badly that they were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, according to court papers and Chicago police. Two men — John Sherwood and his partner Tom Stacha — later filed a lawsuit against Elkins and his companions.

Elkins resigned in January amid separate internal investigations into the beating and an incident of alleged sexual abuse of a teenager at a 2015 family gathering in Michigan. He was sentenced to probation, community service and substance abuse treatment for the latter, according to Michigan records.

Elkins was charged with two counts of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm for his role in the fight, Chicago police said. Another man, 34-year-old Giovanni Rodriguez, was charged with the same, as well as a count of aggravated battery in a public place.

Rodriguez is accused of beating three victims, according to police.

Elkins and Rodriguez turned themselves in on Monday, police said.

Judge John F. Lyke Jr. set bail for Elkins at $250,000 with electronic monitoring. His next court date was set for May 13 and he will be allowed to return to his new home in Florida while out on bail. Bail for Rodriguez was set at $50,000.

Copyright CHIST - SunTimes
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