Chicago DUI attorney comments on the final chapter of a Chicago cop's DUI

This Chicago DUI attorney has posted here, here, and here about cops being charged with DUI.  It is finally over, at least the criminal prosecution, former Chicago Police officer John Ardelean saw charges against him dismissed earlier today.

June 4, Chicago, Il

 A Chicago Police Officer involved in a fatal car crash that killed two people will not face any charges, according to the Cook County prosecutors office.

36-year-old John Ardelean was off-duty Thanksgiving Day 2007, when video cameras captured him drinking three beers and at least four shots at a River North bar.

A short time later, his SUV broadsided a car at Damen and Oakdale Avenue and killed 21-year-old Erick Lagunas, and 22-year-old Miguel Flores.

None of the four officers at the scene reported any sign that Ardelean was drunk, and he was not given a breathalyzer test until eight hours after the crash.

Judge Thomas Gainer Jr., who ruled that Ardelean had been arrested and detained without probable cause, disputed claims that there was a possibility of conspiracy among police officers to protect one of their own.

"We are very disappointed," Mayra Lagunas, a cousin of Lagunas said, her voice shaking. "I can't say that we didn't expect it after what happened last time. It hurts that they've taken something from us and we don't matter.

She said that while the family believes prosecutors did everything they could, it was not enough to overcome what they believe was a case of Ardelean's fellow officers covering up for him.

"(We're) angry with the government, the police department who covered for each other," she said, stuffing her shaking hands into her pants pockets. "We all sat in that room and saw them lie through their teeth."

She said that prosecutors spoke to family members before court to let them know of the decision to drop the case, saying they had pursued every legal option.

 One case against a cop with a DUI is now over.  This one must feel like for the family of the victims the scene of an accident where folks are told to just move along.  There’s no question that some folks believe a professional courtesy was offered to this DUI defendant.