'I'm Scared': Chicago Cop Accused of Hitting 13-Year-Old Girl During Heated Sidewalk Confrontation

A Chicago police sergeant has been stripped of his police powers after a video surfaced showing him confronting a group of teenagers and allegedly making physical contact with a 13-year-old girl who was recording the incident.

The off-duty officer, identified in some reports as Sgt. Jeremy Sikorski, was reportedly involved in a confrontation with teenagers on Chicago's Southwest Side. The video shows him threatening a teenage boy and his father before the situation escalates around the girl who was filming.

The teenagers have disputed the officer's account of what happened before he confronted them. According to reporting on the incident, the group said they were trying to get away from younger children who had allegedly made inappropriate comments towards teenage girls.

The footage has since spread across social media, prompting questions about why an off-duty police officer confronted the teenagers and how the encounter escalated.

Officer Confronts Teenagers

The confrontation appears to have started after Sikorski believed the teenagers were picking on a younger child.

In the video, the officer can reportedly be heard threatening to 'knock out' a teenage boy and his father. He also appears to challenge the teenagers over their behaviour.

The teenagers, however, gave a different account of the situation. They reportedly said they were not bullying the younger children and had instead been trying to move away from them.

A 13-year-old girl was recording the confrontation on her phone when the situation escalated. The video appears to show Sikorski moving towards the girl. Her phone falls to the ground during the encounter, and she is later heard saying that she is scared and that she has pain in her head.

The footage does not show every moment leading up to the confrontation, meaning investigators will have to establish what happened before the recording began and exactly what physical contact occurred.

CPD Strips Sergeant of Police Powers

The incident has now resulted in an official investigation by the Chicago Police Department.

CPD has stripped Sikorski of his police powers and reassigned him to its Alternate Response Section while the investigation continues. The department's Bureau of Internal Affairs is also investigating the incident. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, known as COPA, has opened a separate investigation.

Being stripped of police powers means an officer must surrender his badge, service weapon and department credentials and cannot exercise police authority while the restriction remains in place.

Sikorski has not been publicly charged in connection with the confrontation. He also did not respond to a request for comment from the Chicago Tribune.

Sikorski's Police Record

The controversy has also brought attention to Sikorski's previous disciplinary history.

Sikorski has been with the Chicago Police Department since November 2003. According to city inspector general records cited in reporting, he has been the subject of 22 misconduct allegations during his career, with two resulting in sustained findings.

Those figures do not mean that all 22 allegations were proven. A complaint being filed against an officer is different from an allegation being sustained after an investigation.

One previous COPA case involving Sikorski resulted in a sustained finding over his failure to activate his body-worn camera. He received a two-day suspension in connection with that case.

Sikorski has also previously been named in a civil rights lawsuit involving allegations of false arrest. The case was resolved with an $80,000 (about £59,300) settlement paid by the City of Chicago, according to records cited in reporting on his current case.

Viral Video Sparks Backlash

The latest incident has attracted significant attention because the confrontation involved teenagers and was captured on camera. Viewers have particularly focused on the apparent contradiction between the officer confronting the group over alleged bullying and the subsequent confrontation with the girl who was recording.

However, social media reactions should not be treated as findings of fact. The video circulating online captures only part of the incident, and investigators will need to establish the full sequence of events.

The identities and accounts of all the teenagers involved have also not been independently established through official statements.

For now, the CPD investigation and separate COPA probe will determine whether Sikorski violated department rules and whether further action should be taken. The case could also raise questions about how off-duty officers should respond when they become involved in disputes in public, particularly when those encounters involve minors.

Sikorski remains under investigation, and the allegations against him have not been proven in court.