(Lake County, IL) Today, a Lake County judge found a former Waukegan Police Officer “Guilty” of misdemeanor Reckless Conduct while acquitting him of the felony charge of Official Misconduct and the misdemeanor count of Battery. The charges stemmed from an incident in which an arrested individual was injured while being transported by former Waukegan Police Officer Richard Tabisz on December 14, 2023.
“We cannot permit rogue police officers to harm civilians. Aside from hurting a fellow human being, these criminal actions undermine public trust in the system and are offensive to good police officers who protect the community every day. In this case, the victim was handcuffed, vulnerable, and unable to protect himself during the fall caused by the officer. The former officer crossed the line, and the Court correctly found that the defendant’s criminal conduct caused harm to the victim. We respectfully, but strongly, disagree with the Court in acquitting the former officer of the misdemeanor ‘Battery’ charge and felony ‘Official Misconduct’ charge,” State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart stated after the ruling.
The incident came to light when Waukegan police command staff presented evidence, including several body-worn camera recordings, to the States Attorney’s Office on December 15, 2023 – the day after the incident.
At the time of the initial charges, State’s Attorney Rinehart stated, “The Waukegan Police Department acted swiftly and appropriately with respect to presenting the evidence to our office. It is important to point out that there were up to seven officers on the scene and that the civilian was cooperative and had been in custody for several minutes before Tabisz arrived as a transport officer. I want to thank Chief Navarro and [now former] Mayor Ann Taylor for their swift actions in this matter.
The Waukegan Police Department formally terminated Tabsiz in March 2024.
Tabisz was indicted by a Lake County grand jury in January 2024. During December 2023, and January 2024, the State’s Attorney’s Office conducted a review of all pending cases involving Tabisz.
The trial was conducted by Assistant State’s Attorney Russell Caskey and consisted primarily of showing daytime body-worn camera footage to the Court. While the Waukegan Police Department fully cooperated with prosecutors, the victim in the case failed to respond to a subpoena or to appear in court during the trial.
State’s Attorney Rinehart added, “The body-worn camera footage clearly showed Tabisz’s criminal conduct. Although Waukegan has used body-worn cameras since 2016, the SAFE-T Act has made it a requirement that all law enforcement agencies use body-worn cameras.”
Tabisz’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 11, 2026.
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