Men accuse CPD sergeant of leading vicious attack outside gay nightclub

More details are surfacing after two men accuse an off-duty Chicago police sergeant of leading a vicious attack on them outside a gay nightclub.

The police sergeant has a checkered past and the two men claim a CPD code of silence has been protecting him from facing charges.

Screams of pain can be heard on video from 53-year-old John Sherwood after what he claims was a vicious beating by four men, including an off-duty Chicago police sergeant, Eric Elkins.

“Well they were all very drunk. and just, his eyes, when he was coming out of the bar, his eyes were just crazy. and I honestly was in shock that someone can act that way,” Sherwood said.

Sherwood says he and his longtime partner, Thomas Stacha, were inside the @mosphere dance club when a scuffle broke out. They say they decided to leave, and out front, they were assaulted by four men, including Sergeant Elkins and an off-duty Oak Park police officer, Dwayne Jones.

“I suffered a tibia/fibula fracture, multiple fractures, and my bone came out of my skin,” Sherwood said.

Attorneys for Sherwood and Stacha say the incident is another example of a Chicago cop feeling he'll be protected because of a code of silence among department officers.

“Elkins knew he could get away with anything in the city of Chicago. He knew he could assault two men, break bones, and get away with it,” said plaintiff’s attorney Tim Cavanagh.

Two years ago, Elkins was accused in Michigan of improperly touching a teenager at a family gathering. He pled guilty to lesser charges. A spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department says Sergeant Elkins has been on desk duty since then.

Police call Elkins a person of interest in the nightclub beating investigation. Oak Park police say Officer Dwayne Jones was placed on paid leave two weeks ago pending the outcome of their internal investigation.