A federal jury awarded $3.7 million to a former suburban Chicago police officer who sued for the retaliation he suffered after he discovered evidence of corruption in the village of Stickney.
Under Monday's ruling, Richard Hare Sr., 48, will receive $1.7 million in compensatory damages from the village and $1 million in punitive damages each from Mayor Donald Tabor and Police Chief John Zitek.
"It's a victory for me on paper," Hare said, "but I'm sad because it brought down the entire village," he said.
Hare sued in 2002 alleging that Tabor and Zitek retaliated against him after he and five others brought evidence of corruption to the Cook County state's attorney's office. The action against him included demotion, taking away his car and trying to revoke his gun license.
In 2000, Hare testified before a grand jury that money, guns and drugs had disappeared from the police department's evidence room.
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