Chicago police said Tuesday that the 14-year-old who posed as an officer drove a patrol car and aided in an arrest, and that seven officers face disciplinary reviews for the "lax" behavior that allowed the teen's escapade to happen. "They weren't paying attention," Superintendent Jody Weis said at a news conference announcing the completion of the investigation. "They were lax. I'm very upset. This whole incident is very disturbing."
The teenager, an aspiring police officer, allegedly wore a uniform and entered a South Side police station through an unlocked back door around 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 24. He was issued a radio and rode with a patrol officer for more than five hours, at times using the terminal in the squad car and responding to five assignments, Weis said.
Authorities previously said the teen did not drive a squad car, but Weis said Tuesday that the boy — who is too young to drive in Illinois — spent two hours behind the wheel. The boy also helped in the arrest of a suspect who allegedly violated a protection order.
"He brought the arm into the middle of his back so handcuffs could be placed on him," Weis said.
The boy returned to the station at 7:37 p.m., when a supervisor discovered the teen was not wearing a complete uniform and had no weapon, Weis said. The teen was arrested at 7:40 p.m.
"This is absolutely unacceptable," Weis said. "We were very fortunate that a lot of tragic things didn't happen."
The boy has pleaded not guilty in juvenile court to impersonating an officer. He is no longer in custody but must wear an electronic monitoring device.
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