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Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Ultimate Fighter Fights Back (In Court), Sues Mayor, Police Officials And Police Officers For Misconduct

Courtesy of The Law Offices of Blake Horwitz:

CHICAGO, Sept. 5 -- Professional fighter for the Ultimate Fighting Championship(1) Terry Martin, fights back, but this time in court, against the Chicago Police Department, the mayor and other officials. Martin alleges that the corruption found within the department led to him being arrested and criminally prosecuted (he was ultimately found not guilty).

On October 22, 2005, Martin was in his car with his girlfriend (a 911 operator for the City of Chicago) when he was stopped by Chicago Police Officers. He was stopped due to a purported minor traffic violation (not using his turn signal). During the encounter, the officers repeatedly called Mr. Martin "nigger" and other disrespectful comments, making references to his career as a professional fighter.

The next day, Martin went to the police station to report the misconduct by these officers. While trying to enter the station, the officers that were involved in the incident the night before saw Martin. They rushed him and arrested him. They handcuffed Martin, refused his request for a lawyer (laughing at him), impounded his car and ridiculed him. Martin was criminally prosecuted for fleeing and eluding, on said date, even though he was approaching the police department, in his car, to
complain about the officers' misconduct.

Martin defended himself in criminal court (Defense Counsel, Stuart Goldberg) and won. The police officers contended that a vehicular chase ensued (up to a mile) from the police station. However, and fortunately for Martin, their position was undermined by the fact that one officer, an honest officer who decided not to cover up for his fellow officers, stated that Martin had simply driven his car to the police station (and not fled) just before he was arrested.

Martin is now fighting back with a significant lawsuit against the officers, the mayor and the city, claiming that political corruption, internal conflicts of interest between the mayor and the police department and bogus internal affairs investigations cause Chicago police officers to run amok.

Blake Horwitz, a police misconduct lawyer, states: "Mr. Martin has taken a bold step to attack the entire system. His lawsuit seeks to attack the system from the bottom up -- getting at the root of the problem."

Blake Horwitz has had many successes in the field of police misconduct, including a $28,000,000.00 verdict against the City of Chicago, the largest police misconduct verdict in the Midwest.

Note (1): (http://www.suntimes.com/sports/modrowski/476635,CST-SPT-fite20.article)

Blake Horwitz
lobh@att.net
Office: 312-616-4433
Fax: 312-565-7173
Suite 723
155 N. Michigan Ave
Chicago Il 60601
http://www.policewatchers.com