CPD lieutenant accused of shoving flashlight in teen suspect’s buttocks suspended without pay

The Chicago Police Board on Thursday voted to approve a settlement agreement and a six-month suspension for a lieutenant who was facing firing for allegedly shoving a flashlight between the buttocks of a handcuffed teen carjacking suspect in 2021.

Last June CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling recommended Lt. Wilfredo Roman be discharged from the department for using excessive force in the Feb. 9, 2021, incident and failing to complete a tactical response report.

But the superintendent subsequently moved to withdraw the administrative charges after the parties reached a settlement agreement that included a 180-day suspension without pay for Roman.

On Thursday the police board voted 8-0 in favor of accepting the settlement agreement and suspending Roman.

The encounter — which was recorded on police body-worn cameras — unfolded after the teen had allegedly carjacked a man at gunpoint and later bailed out of the car and ran off after police gave chase, authorities said.

The teen surrendered in an alley in the 2000 block of North Leclaire Avenue in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood as he tried to scale a fence that he’d just tossed a gun over.

The teen was complaining about his handcuffs when Roman yelled for him to “shut up” and approached him from behind and shoved his flashlight “in and/or on and/or between the buttocks” of the suspect, according to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

Roman also yelled “that’s what you get for carjacking,” and “stop being a little b****,” according to COPA.

The incident also led to felony aggravated battery and official misconduct charges against Roman. During court hearings, prosecutors said the teen was 17 years old but disciplinary documents filed with the police board say the boy was 15.

Roman’s attorney noted that there was no penetration and the flashlight was never on bare skin but over the teen’s clothes.

He was found not guilty by Cook County Judge Joseph Claps in 2023.