CHICAGO — Chicago Police Officer Marco Proano was found guilty on two federal civil rights counts for shooting into a car full of teens in Roseland in 2013.
Marco Proano, 42, faces up to 20 years in prison for shooting into a car with six teens inside, wounding two, in the 9400 block of South LaSalle Street on Dec. 22, 2013.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Fitzpatrick said Proano was convicted by a jury Monday on two federal counts of deprivation of rights under color of law.
He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years at his hearing Nov. 20.
The Chicago Police Department moved to terminate Proano last December.
"Mr. Proano's actions are intolerable and stand in stark contrast to the hard work Chicago police officers do each day to build trust and serve our communities," said Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson. "As police officers, integrity and trust are paramount to everything we do, and we will always hold ourselves to the highest professional standards."
The city's police union is considering Proano's next legal steps, according to a statement from Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President Kevin Graham.
"We are very disappointed in the jury’s verdict. The pressure on the police is making the job extremely difficult," Graham said. "It seems that the criminal elements in our society are not accountable in our justice system, while the police face an intense scrutiny for every split-second decision they make."
After the shooting, an initial police statement said a weapon was recovered from the vehicle, but subsequent legal filings asserted that the teens had no weapons.
On the day of the shooting, Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Pat Camden told DNAinfo the driver was "coming at the officers" with the vehicle, but a video of the incident shows the car backing away from officers, not coming toward them.
In 2015, the Chicago Reporter released a dashcam video of the incident showing Proano shooting into the car. (The shooting can be seen about the 0:40 mark in the video.)
In 2016, Proano was charged by federal prosecutors.
“When a police officer uses unreasonable force, it has a harmful effect on not only the victims, but also the public, who lose faith and confidence in law enforcement,” former U.S. Attorney Zach Fardon said in the announcement of charges. “Our office will continue to independently and vigorously pursue civil rights prosecutions to hold officers accountable and strengthen trust in the police."
Since 2011, Proano has had at least eight complaints filed against him, including two use of force cases. None of those cases resulted in punishment.
