CHICAGO — Just a month after two Chicago police officers, including a high-ranking deputy chief, were accused of slashing tires while on duty at Puerto Rican Fest, charges against one of them have been dropped.
Last month, the Cook County Prosecutor’s Office declined to file felony charges against Nieves, 53, and Gies, 26, citing insufficient evidence.
Despite the prosecutor’s decision, Chicago Police Department supervisors decided to strip both men of their police powers and directly filed two criminal damage charges against Gies and one charge of the same charge against Nieves on September 5.
CPD reports filed in court said then-Deputy Chief Roberto Nieves and Officer Jacob Gies “were observed on police [bodyworn camera] video showing a knife being used to deflate the tires of two vehicles without permission.”
During a trial two weeks later, prosecutors dropped one of the charges Gies faced. A week later they dropped the second count. Gies has submitted a request for deletion.
Attorney Jim McKay represented Gies. He said prosecutors “have completed their investigation into the case [and] concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support the filing of criminal charges.”
A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service has confirmed this.
“After reviewing the criminal complaint filed by law enforcement, we concluded that the evidence was insufficient to meet our burden of proof to proceed with the prosecution of the case,” the representative said Friday.
Charges are still pending against Nieves, who was demoted to captain after charges were filed.
Both men remain stripped of police powers, a CPD spokesperson said, adding that “internal investigations remain open.”
Original reporting you won’t see anywhere else, paid for by our readers. Click here to support our work.
