Chicago police officer found not guilty of lying about 2020 gun arrest – but still in danger of being shot

A Chicago police officer was acquitted this week of writing a false report and making false statements regarding a weapons arrest, but he still faces dismissal for allegedly stealing cash and drugs and lying about other firearm seizures.

Cook County Judge Ursula Walowski found Officer Daniel Fair not guilty Thursday on charges of official misconduct and obstruction of justice during a bench trial.

case attached to a street stop Image of a man named Rodney Westerfield on Aug. 8, 2020, in the 11800 block of South Stewart Boulevard in West Pullman.

Prosecutors previously said Fair, 35, wrote in his arrest report that Westerfield swung a bag over the front of his body when officers approached. Fair claimed his partner later found a Ruger MK III pistol in Westerfield’s pants and then found a Taurus G2c pistol and a box of ammunition in the bag.

But prosecutors said body camera footage showed Westerfield never arranged the bag and that Fair retrieved the Taurus from Westerfield’s “sealed bag,” which was taken before the other gun was found.

Fair presented a different story at a preliminary hearing later that month, prosecutors said. He claimed Westerfield fled the stop, leading to a chase that ended with Fair detaining Westerfield and finding a “hard metal object” that had fallen to the ground.

Fair later seized a Ruger MK3, the same gun his partner said he found, prosecutors said. But body camera footage showed the partner removing the Ruger from Westerfield’s pants, and it was only discovered after Westerfield was handcuffed and Fair found the other gun.

Prosecutors said a review of the evidence showed Fair knew he had made false statements about the arrest and did so to hinder Westerfield’s defense.

Fair’s attorney, Tim Grace, previously said this was “a case where the officers’ testimony needed to be a little tighter.” Grace did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

On Aug. 20, 2021, more than a year after the arrest, Westerfield filed a motion to vacate the arrest and “dispose of illegally seized evidence,” according to court records.

Westerfield pleaded guilty in November to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. He was sentenced to one year in prison, most of which he served in the Cook County Jail while awaiting trial.

Prosecutors later filed a motion to vacate the conviction in August 2023, citing the charges and evidence against Fair. Months later, the motion was denied and the case was closed.

Adil faces fire

While the criminal case is pending, the city’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability has been released a damn report Earlier this year, he accused Fair and three other Calumet County tactical officers of committing misconduct that was deemed “substantial and undeniable.”

In one case, Fair and Officer Kevin Taylor took cash and marijuana during a vehicle search, COPA said in its Jan. 26 report. GPS records showed they went to Fair’s block after the search and the contraband was never inventoried.

Fair and Officer Jeffery Morrow also recovered the gun used in a murder in Kentucky and released the suspect; This was part of their claim that they lied about the source of the guns they picked up off the street without making an arrest.

COPA said if officers had looked up his name in a law enforcement database, they would have discovered he had an active murder warrant.

All four officers were interviewed by the FBI last year. COPA stated that Fair and Morrow admitted to “seizing firearms and filing false reports,” while Taylor acknowledged that he was aware his colleagues had submitted false paperwork. But COPA said police officer Rupert Collins claimed he was unaware officers were covering up problematic gun seizures.

Cook County prosecutors and the FBI declined to file charges, COPA said.

But COPA concluded that the officers demonstrated a disturbing pattern of misconduct and called for their removal. On May 10, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling told COPA Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten that he had begun the process of terminating them.

Prosecutors tried supporting unfortunate criminal cases against Fair by tying him to the broader “scheme” being investigated by COPA. But Judge Walowski turned down their offer to present “other incriminating evidence” in the gun case.

The judge said these charges bore little resemblance to criminal charges and were likely to have an unfair “prejudicial effect” on Fair’s case.

Fair previously served as a U.S. Army specialist in Operation Enduring Freedom and joined the police force in 2017. He earns $102,870 annually.