Judge dismisses case against cop accused of faking DUI arrests

A Cook County judge today threw out an indictment against a Chicago Police officer accused of falsifying drunken driving arrests.

Judge James M. Obbish said prosecutors were wrong to rely on statements Officer John Haleas gave to police investigators during an internal investigation of his conduct.

Under union rules, such statements cannot be used against an officer in a criminal case, the judge said, ruling on a defense motion to dismiss the case.

Haleas received a one-day suspension as a result of the internal department investigation. He was criminally charged in 2008 with perjury, official misconduct and obstructing justice, and was stripped of his police powers.

In 2005, Cook County prosecutors asked police to investigate the Grand-Central District officer after he allegedly failed to give a DUI suspect a field sobriety test and did not tell the man he could refuse to take a Breathalyzer. Two prosecutors in training were with Haleas when he made that April 9, 2005 arrest.

Prosecutors lodged a formal complaint against Haleas with the police department¹s Internal Affairs Division. The department notified prosecutors in 2007 that the complaint was sustained and that Haleas had engaged in misconduct.

As a result of the allegations against Haleas, at least 156 of his DUI cases have been dropped by prosecutors.

Haleas had been considered a star officer, making more than 700 DUI arrests in 2005 and 2006. He was honored as a "Top Cop" by the Schaumburg-based Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists.