Former Robbins police chief charged with beating man at village hall

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Former Robbins Police Chief Carl Scott has been charged with beating a man inside the village hall earlier this summer after the man had come in to file a complaint.

Scott, 47, has been charged with one count each of aggravated battery, theft, and official misconduct.

At his first court appearance on Friday, Scott was released from custody, and ordered not to have any contact with the victim or any witnesses. He also must stay away from the Robbins Police Department. He's due back in court on Aug. 29.

Chief accused of taking victim's cell phone, throwing it down sewer

According to the charges, a 43-year-old man came to the Robbins Police Department on July 1 to file a complaint against the chief over a previous incident.

The victim was recording the lobby with his cell phone, and when Scott approached him, the chief began filming the victim with his own cell phone, prosecutors said. Scott then ordered two other officers to come to the lobby for assistance, and asked the victim for his information so he could issue a citation for public nuisance.

When the victim refused, Scott told him he would have to be taken to the back of the police station to be fingerprinted, prosecutors said. Once the victim was taken back, Scott knocked the cell phone out of his hand, shoved him into a door, and hit him in the back of the head.

Scott and two other officers then led him to the back of the station, where Scott shoved him against a door frame, then shoved him into an interview room, pushed him against a wall, and told him to sit down, according to prosecutors.

Scott then ordered the other officers to turn off their body cameras, and started yelling at the victim and hit him in the face, prosecutors said. Scott then grabbed the victim by the kneck, and continued to beat and yell at him for several minutes.

At one point during the attack, Scott asked the other officers for their batons, but they refused, according to prosecutors. After the beating, the victim was given a ticket for public nuisance and was escorted out of the police station.

The victim tried to find his cell phone in the lobby, but couldn't, and an employee later told him Scott had picked it up, walked outside, and dropped it down a sewer, prosecutors said. The phone was later recovered from the sewer.

First Amendment activist accused chief of beating him for 10 minutes

The man who accused Scott of attacking him recently sat down with CBS News Chicago for an interview.

His followers know him as "Tyrant Terminator Audits" on YouTube, and because of what happened to him, CBS News Chicago is identifying him only as James.

It was an exchange James has had countless times, when he films interactions with law enforcement officers and other public employees in government buildings.

The form of activism is called an audit, designed to test whether First Amendment rights are respected.

James said, on July 1, a visit to Robbins Village Hall spiraled out of control when he came face-to-face with Scott.

"He pulled out his personal phone, he started recording me, and I told him that I was gonna get a FOIA for that video that he was making, and I was going to file a complaint," James said.

A FOIA is a Freedom of Information Act request – a form requesting records from a public agency. James said the complaint he was filing was over a previous visit to Robbins Village Hall in March, when he first met Scott.

That encounter was captured on video, as James was told he had to leave, and ended in an arrest, as James was charged with disorderly conduct and breach of peace. Both charges were later dismissed.

His return to Robbins Village Hall on July 1 started out like they all do, with James recording the encounter on cell phone. James said it took a very scary turn when Scott didn't let him leave.

Video of that encounter was recorded on a cell phone that was swiped from James.

"He started to ask me for my personal information, like my name and stuff, and 'Where's your ID?'" James said.

As he was escorted to a back room, Scott smacked James' phone – which was recording everything – out of his hand, James said. It was the last time James saw the device.

"So he grabbed me by the back, slammed me up against the wall in the corner, and they opened up this door to the back, and there was two officers with us – Officer Harding and Sergeant Yates – and he took me in this room and slammed me down on this little metal plate where you sit at, and he told the two officers to cut the cameras off, and then he just started beating me," James said.

James said the attack lasted about 10 minutes as Scott repeatedly punched him in the face and head while the other two officers looked on and did nothing.

" I thought he was gonna probably beat me to death"

James said he feared Scott would kill him.

"Yeah, man, I'll be honest, especially when he asked the officers to get the baton. I thought he was gonna probably beat me to death," he said.

According to the charges, Scott repeatedly struck James in the face, causing bruising and swelling. He's also accused of taking James' cell phone and later dropping it down a sewer.

Scott was initially put on unpaid administrative duty following the incident on July 1 inside the village hall. Robbins Mayor Darren Bryant later moved to fire Scott, choosing not to wait for the outcome of an investigation by the Cook County Sheriff's Public Integrity Unit. Before the mayor could fire him, Scott resigned.

Without giving specifics, Bryant addressed the incident at a recent village meeting, where he announced Scott had been relieved of his duties – before Scott resigned – and hinted that footage might soon be released.

"I want you to all brace with what may happen in the next couple of weeks. Something might be released. Maybe not," Bryant said at the time.

James said the video footage needs to be made public.

"I'm hoping, wishing, and praying that no one else will have to go through something of this nature," he said.

CBS News Chicago has filed multiple requests to obtain all the footage surrounding this incident that resulted in Scott's resignation, including the video James owns and any security footage from inside Village Hall.