This screen grab of surveillance video allegedly shows a North Chicago officer using excessive force on a detainee. (North Chicago Police Dept.)
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NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. (CBS) — After just six days, the man who was appointed interim police chief in North Chicago has decided he doesn’t want the job.
As WBBM Newsradio’s Bernie Tafoya reports, retired Lake Forest police Chief W. Michael Hosking was brought in by North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham to head up the troubled police department, while city police Chief Mike Newsome is on paid administrative leave.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Bernie Tafoya reports
Hosking told Rockingham the job was not in his best interest. He made the decision after a committee meeting of the North Chicago City Council Monday.
“I don’t think North Chicago is ready for me, nor am I ready for North Chicago,” Hosking said Tuesday.
The job would have earned Hosking a reported $9,000 per month.
Rockingham said he placed Newsome on leave after reviewing 88 cases in which excessive force is alleged, over four years, including the Nov. 6 domestic battery arrest of Darrin “Dagwood” Hanna, 45, who died Nov. 13 of injuries sustained during his arrest.
Since then, others have come forward with their own stories and situations caught on tape, which they say illustrate the problem.
Rockingham still awaits the results of an Illinois state Police Public Integrity Unit investigation into Hanna’s death. But he has also retained retired State Police Lt. Col. Robert Johnson to review the Hanna case and five other cases in which brutality is alleged. He said last week that Newsome’s long-term future with the department will in large part depend on what is found.
The Lake County News-Sun contributed to this report, via the Sun-Times Media Wire.
