Chicago cop charged with punching teenage girl during confrontation shown in viral video

An embattled Chicago police sergeant was charged with punching a 17-year-old girl as she filmed a now-viral video that showed the cop threatening a group of kids this summer on the Southwest Side.

Jeremy Sikorski, 45, from Garfield Ridge, faces felony counts of aggravated battery in relation to the alleged attack Aug. 9 in the 5100 block of South Merrimac Avenue, according to Cook County court records. Sikorski turned himself over to police last week.

Sikorski and his family were attending a barbecue when Sikorski and two other men approached a group of teenagers in an alley, prosecutors said in a court filing. Prosecutors said the video shows Sikorski berating one of the teens about “picking on” other kids, apparently referencing an earlier fracas at a park that involved at least one of Sikorski’s children.

Sikorski then approached the teenage boy, first threatening to slap him and then warning that he would “knock your f—— a– out” while raising a fist, prosecutors said, referencing the video. Sikorski also threatened to beat up the teen’s parents and menaced another person.

After Sikorski started to walk away, he turned back and punched the 17-year-old girl in the head, prosecutors said. Her phone fell to the ground and she was heard “sobbing in pain.”

Days later, she was diagnosed with a concussion, officials said. Prosecutors said she and five other people identified Sikorski as the assailant from a photo lineup.

Video of the incident was posted by CWB Chicago, a blog focused on crime and public safety issues.

Sikorski’s attorney didn’t respond to a request for comment. An attorney for the girl’s family declined to comment.

The alleged attack was apparently spurred by an earlier altercation between the teenagers Sikorski confronted and a group of younger teens, described by prosecutors as the children of Sikorski and the host of the barbecue.

One of the older kids ultimately kicked one of the younger teens in the lower stomach, prosecutors said.

Sikorski later confronted the older teens in the alley of their home and asked if they were bullying the younger children, leading up to the attack, prosecutors said.

When police responded to a call of a battery, the mother of one of the older children told them the younger kids were the instigators of the conflict, prosecutors said.

Sikorski was stripped of his police powers two days later, police said. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability has opened an administrative investigation into the incident.

Sikorski surrendered at the Central District on Sept. 22 to face charges, according to his arrest report. Prosecutors’ petition to have him held at Cook County Jail was denied during his first court hearing on Sept. 23.

Contributing: Rosemary Sobol