Sun-Times file photo
The Chicago Police Board has voted to clear a veteran police officer accused of lying to investigators after video surfaced that appeared to show the officer punching a handcuffed man at a South Side Hospital nearly seven years ago.
In a 5-3 vote during their monthly meeting Thursday, the board passed a motion declaring Officer Clauzell Gause not guilty of making a false statement regarding his use of force and to restore him to his position.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability recommended Gause be fired last year for allegedly lying to investigators about the incident. He had also been hit with felony misconduct charges, but those were dropped by the Cook County state’ attorney’s office in 2019.
The confrontation happened June 3, 2014, when then-24-year-old Rayshon Gartley was taken to Jackson Park Hospital for a mental health evaluation. Prosecutors said Gause was seen on surveillance footage punching and shoving Gartley, who was restrained and handcuffed at the hospital.
Gause omitted from a report that Gartley was handcuffed when he punched him, according to a document outlining the charges. Gause also told COPA investigators in an interview that he didn’t make contact with Gartley’s face or head, the document states.
But hospital surveillance video allegedly captured Gause, who was in uniform, holding Gartley’s arms behind his back and shoving him against a wall, causing him to bounce back toward the officer, prosecutors said. Gause then appeared to punch Gartley in the face with a closed fist.