Same-sex partners Thomas Stacha and John Sherwood are suing Chicago police officer Sgt. Eric Elkins for allegedly beating them outside of the bar @mosphere on the night of Sept. 29, 2018. The attack left Stacha with broken cheekbones and a perforated trachea and Sherwood with a compound leg fracture. No charges have been formally filed against Elkins for the attack.
Stacha and Sherwood’s lawsuit has named Elkins and three other men — Elkins’ boyfriend and two of their friends — as responsible.
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According to The Chicago Tribune, a fight between the men started within the club and continued outside. Though the attack outside lasted barely a minute, witnesses say that the assailants fled in two directions. Police arrested Elkins’ two friends that night, but those men also denied involvement, blaming Elkins and his boyfriend instead.
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When questioned by police, a friend of Stacha and Sherwood’s who was with them on the night of the attack immediately picked out Elkins from a picture book of possible suspects, commenting, “He’s the drunk guy that was kicking John outside.”
This friend also pointed at a picture of Elkins’ boyfriend in a separate photo collection, stating that he felt “80% sure” that he was also involved in the attack. Sherwood himself picked out one of Elkins’ friends in the photo book but couldn’t identify the other attackers, calling the entire incident “a blur.”
Elkins has apparently been on paid desk duty for the last three years, The Chicago Tribune reports, because of sexual assault charges filed against him in Michigan in 2015. The charges state that Elkins got drunk at a family reunion and tried to fondle four teenage boys. The investigation into those charges is ongoing.
In 2003, Elkins was also charged with sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy from Chicago’s Admundsen High School, where Elkins worked as a part-time security guard. However, Elkins was acquitted due to a lack of physical evidence.
Either way, Elkins sounds like a rotten apple.
Lacuevaman
rotten? maybe he has a “fermented” problem
Bob LaBlah
I hold judgement until more evidence is presented. Let us all not forget what happened to the poor guy who was sent back to prison in NYC for that fight in Dallas Bar-B-Que where it turns out “gurl” passed the first lick. The two who allege assault are coming off as too squeaky clean for my likes. And by the way, if the allegations against ol’ baldy in the picture (I assume thats him) are true this time around I hope he is prosecuted just as severely as the poor guy in NYC was.
DHT
Let’s hope he and his fellow gay bullies get the time they deserve. Maybe we’ll be lucky enough that he’ll get to serve his sentence with some of the guys he’s arrested?
Mick406
Damn! That was some pretty severe injuries just for some guys hitting each other with their purses.
GayEGO
Stop being such a dishy queen, Mary Doogan!
GayEGO
Wow! Shame on the Gay, drunken cop for his and his friends outrageous assault on Stacha and Sherwood. Lock ’em up!
Tombear
There are two sides to every story? Gay guys love having sex with gay cops. I wonder if the guy who got beat up made a pass at the cop or his boyfriend?
Aires the Ram
This guy sounds like he’s got a good deal of negative history, probably happens when he’s drunk.
I’m not defending him, but this story just has too many holes in it, too much NOT being said.
That being said, if you know a guy is a cop, gay or not, think twice before you mess with him, because they not only KNOW how to fight, they’re not afraid to fight.