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Cop on Lightfoot's security team charged with domestic battery

Published  July 3, 2019 9:25pm CDT
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 32 Chicago

CHICAGO - A Chicago police officer assigned to Mayor Lori Lightfoot's security detail has been charged with a misdemeanor count of domestic battery.

The 17-year veteran officer, Marni Washington, turned herself in about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 2400 block of West Belmont Avenue after a warrant was issued for her arrest, according to Chicago police. The alleged incident happened on June 27.

During an argument, a 53-year-old woman attempted to leave a residence when Washington, 50, allegedly pinned the woman with her arm against a wall and threatened her verbally, police said. She also removed personal property from the woman and ripped her clothing, police said.

Washington was assigned to the mayor's security detail as part of the department's Detached Services Unit, a police spokesperson said.

According to city records, Washington is assigned as a "security specialist" and earns a salary of $107,790. She has two use of force complaints concerning "physical force — holding," according to the Citizens Police Data Project, which tracks allegations of police misconduct in Chicago.

Washington was stripped of her police powers at the time of her arrest and has been placed on administrative duty, police said.

Washington appeared in court Wednesday before Judge Megan Goldish, who set her bail at $10,000, according to the Cook County sheriff's office and court records. She was released after posting bond and her next court date was set for July 29.

An order of protection has been issued in the case, according to court records.

The mayor's office is "aware of the allegations of potential criminal conduct by a member of the Mayor's security detail involving a domestic dispute," Lightfoot's press secretary Anel Ruiz said in a statement.

"This matter is being handled pursuant to longstanding CPD protocols. While the charges are pending, the individual will not be involved in any police duties," Ruiz said.

Lightfoot broke with tradition in May when she announced her security detail would be run by a retired U.S. Marshall instead of a Chicago police officer. Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, co-chaired the Task Force on Police Accountability, which issued a scathing report on the police department following the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald in 2014.