From [HERE] A second police officer has been fired in the wake of numerous allegations of police brutality against certain members of the North Chicago Police Department. William Bogdala, 33, an eight-year veteran of the force, was terminated effective June 29, according to City Attorney Chuck Smith, who said Bogdala will likely appeal through the Fraternal Order of Police grievance process. Six-year veteran Brandon Yost was fired in April for his role in the Nov. 6 arrest and police beating death of Darrin Hanna, which sparked a public outcry.

Hanna, 45, died Nov. 13, a week after he was arrested inside his apartment by six North Chicago police officers on a domestic battery charge.  He was beaten and repeatedly shocked with a stun gun by North Chicago police. In police recordings from the scene, an anguished Hanna can be heard pleading, “Put me down, please, I was down,” while an officer tells him, “You are OK ... relax.” Advocates have said the recordings show Hanna was cooperative, still conscious and understandable after being arrested, though he was barely conscious and unintelligible by the time he was carried out of his apartment on a stretcher.

Bogdala had been working under a three-year “last chance” agreement since May 29, 2008, Smith said. The discipline was imposed after he was found to have used excessive force during an arrest.

There have been other claims against Bogdala, including one that resulted in a recent $40,000 out-of-court settlement on behalf of a North Chicago man who accused Bogdala, a canine handler for the department, of refusing to call off a dog that was chomping on his leg.

In that case, Walter Wrather, 23, suffered a broken tibia and puncture wounds and also claimed that he was punched and kicked after attempting to flee from a traffic stop in April 2011. After the arrest, Bogdala allegedly posted photos of a police dog and Wrather’s wounds on his Facebook page along with a warning about running from police.

Both the arrest and Internet posting were discussed in a deposition taken in March from retired Assistant Chief of Police Crystal Phillips, who said she recommended against Bogdala becoming a canine officer “because of some prior discipline” and “his aggressive nature.”

Phillips also discussed other arrests in which Bogdala allegedly used excessive force, including a woman he took into custody in 2005. In that incident, Bogdala broke the orbital or eye socket of Sharon Faye Jackson, 35, of Zion, claiming that she had gone for his gun in the booking room. Phillips, who stated that the police video of that incident “came up missing,” said she expected a lawsuit to be filed in that case, but then realized that the woman had been sent to prison.

Bogdala, who could not be reached for comment, was also an arresting officer in the case of Charles Smith, 51, of Waukegan, who was taken into custody on a burglary charge on Dec. 12. Smith required emergency brain surgery and facial reconstruction after the arrest. A second arresting officer, Ray Hartmann, said Smith’s injuries were a result of a fall during a tackle in a hotel hallway.

The Chicago-based firm Collison & O’Connor, which has won several settlements related to alleged police brutality against the city and has filed a federal wrongful death suit on behalf of the family of Darrin Hanna, also plans to name Bogdala in a forthcoming suit in the Charles Smith case.

Muriel Collsion called Bogdala’s termination “a very wise decision.”

“He should have been fired a long time ago,” she said.

Attorney Smith said the “last straw” for Bogdala was an off-duty incident in October 2010 in which he displayed a gun during a confrontation with a motorist over a loud car stereo. While the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office declined to press charges in the matter, Smith said then Police Chief Michael Newsome did not inform city officials about the incident.

Newsome was placed on paid administrative leave on Jan. 3. He resigned in February. During a Dec. 8 meeting in which the City Council voted to recommend Newsome’s suspension, Bogdala, speaking on behalf of the FOP, said the department owed “the chief of police a debt of gratitude.”

Five officers have been disciplined by Interim Police Chief James Jackson after investigations into complaints of police brutality, according to Smith.

Ralph Peterson of Waukegan, who is working to gather and publicize evidence of alleged abuse by certain North Chicago police officers, and who accuses the department of withholding certain evidence, said he will continue to push for discipline including the firing of all officers involved in the arrest of Hanna, his cousin.

“If one officer did something wrong and no one spoke up, they’re all guilty as accessories,” Peterson said. “The Hanna family is not going to quit.”

North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham commended Jackson for moving the department forward in trying times.

“If we find any officers who are not doing what they’re supposed to do, we are going to move aggressively to address that,” he said.