Today, the Honorable Judge George Strickland found former Waukegan Police Officer Dante Salinas “Guilty” of one felony count of Official Misconduct based upon punching a civilian repeatedly.  

State’s Attorney Rinehart made the following statement:  

"On August 31, 2019, former Waukegan Police Officer Dante Salinas committed felony official misconduct when he delivered multiple punches to Angel Salgado’s face during what started as a consensual encounter. It must be emphasized that Salinas was not responding to a report of a crime, a disturbance, or a call for help. Angel was standing in his in-laws’ yard after a baptism when Salinas stopped his vehicle on routine patrol and exited his vehicle to have a conversation. Salinas eventually tried to arrest Salgado, who was argumentative but had not touched the officer. During this improper arrest, Salgado retreated into the fenced yard and Salinas followed him and immediately delivered two to three punches. Within two minutes, more police officers arrived to assist Salinas. While Angel was struggling during the handcuff process, he never punched, kicked, or harmed any officer. Not a single backup officer punched Angel Salgado. As a result of the force initiated by Salinas, Salgado sustained injuries to his face and a broken orbital bone. Salinas admitted in his police report and in a civil deposition to punching Salgado multiple times. 

 The court, during a bench trial, found that even though Salgado put up resistance to being handcuffed, Salinas was unreasonable in the force that he used to complete the arrest.  

Constitutional and safe policing must be at the core of any justice system. We agree with the Court when it said that the police are here to protect the community and that their job is incredibly difficult. But this one officer went too far.  

This State’s Attorney’s administration will work every day with our police partners and community stakeholders to ensure that every resident is safe. We are very proud of our law enforcement collaborations with Waukegan and other agencies. Together, we are solving more cases, holding more offenders accountable, and reducing crime.  

Our thoughts remain with Angel Salgado and his family, who we hope are as satisfied with this verdict as we are. 

The Defendant will now face charges regarding the October 2020 shooting death of Marcellis Stinnette. As we said when we charged him with all crimes, it is vital to the administration of justice and to the community’s confidence in our legal system that we bring charges based on the law and on the facts -- without regard to the status of the victim or the suspect.  

Finally, we are also thinking of the Stinnette family and all those who loved Marcellis. We look forward to securing justice for him in light of Salinas’s actions that occurred in 2020 after this 2019 incident."

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 28, 2025, in T-812.

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