Trio plead not guilty in shooting that paralyzed off-duty Chicago Police Officer Danny Golden

Chicago Police Officer Danny Golden released from hospital after being shot, paralyzed

Chicago Police Officer Danny Golden was released from the hospital Friday afternoon, nearly a week after being shot in the back and paralyzed while trying to break up a bar fight in Beverly.

CHICAGO - The three men charged in a shooting that left off-duty Chicago Police Officer Danny Golden paralyzed in Beverly last month entered a plea of not guilty Thursday.

Attempted murder charges were filed against 22-year-old Bryant Hayes and Justen Krismantis, and 28-year-old Demetrius Harrell in July, and a Cook County judge ordered the three held without bond.

Prosecutors said the three suspects got into a fight with customers at a Beverly bar on July 9, and the fight spilled outside.

Prosecutors said that off-duty Officer Golden was acting as a peacekeeper and was walking away from the suspects when one pulled out a gun and began firing.

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Golden was hit in the back, severing his spine and paralyzing him below the waist.

3 charged in shooting that paralyzed off-duty Chicago police officer

On Tuesday, a Cook County judge at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse ordered three men charged with shooting Chicago police officer Danny Golden held without bond.

It’s tragic what happened," said Liam Hopkins, a friend of Golden’s family. "There’s no answer for any of that. Danny Golden serves our community, and he served our country selflessly over the last eight years."

Golden is a US Army veteran and a third generation Chicago police officer.

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Prosecutors said they recovered text messages showing the three suspects laughing about what happened.

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"The defendants also joked about the incident afterwards stating, "let’s get drunk this weekend and start a bar fight." And, "that (expletive) was fun they beat my ass too."

The next court date for the suspects is Oct. 13.