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Mar 30, 2007 10:10 pm US/Central
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Cop In Beating Case An Alcoholic, Lawyer Says
by Mike Parker
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
The attorney for a Chicago police officer caught on tape beating up a female bartender claims his client is a decent guy who's struggling with alcohol.
He spoke exclusively with CBS 2's Mike Parker Friday.
"I just hope that in the future people will understand that nobody is as bad as you are at the worst point in your life," said Tom Needham, Officer Anthony Abbate's attorney.
He concedes that the incident in the bar, in which a female bartender was beaten, was the worst moment in Abbate's life.
"My client knows there will come a day when he has to face the music and pay a price for what he did that night. We're just hoping that when that day comes, people will be able to put this unfortunate incident in context with the rest of his life," Needham said.
Needham also says he admires Superintendent Phil Cline and understands the frustration that apparently led to the comments Cline made on WLS radio.
"He's been charged criminally, and we're moving to fire him and if I could hit him with a baseball bat, I would. But I can't," Cline said while speaking about Abbate on a radio program.
"When people make comments like that, I think it emboldens other people to make comments like that, but I don't think the superintendent meant that literally," Needham said.
He said Abbate has an alcohol problem, and that he knows it and is dealing with it.
"He's a human being, he's got a family, he's a decent fella. He made a terrible mistake like some people do and he's in a hole and he's gonna dig out," Needham said of his client.
The attorney says Abbate is currently taking part in a program with other police officers recovering from their alcohol problems.
This horrendous incident, Needham said, has helped his client wake up and face his problem.
Needham also said Abbate was the target of insults on a recent trip to the bank. For now, he's staying home, going nowhere.
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