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CBS 2's Dana Kozlov and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (CBS) ― Attorneys for a bartender allegedly beaten when she refused to serve an off-duty police officer more alcohol -- an incident caught on video -- filed a federal lawsuit Monday against the officer and the city of Chicago.

Security cameras captured video of a large man punching and kicking the petite, blond-haired Karolina Obrycka in a bar on Chicago's northwest side. The Feb. 19 attack that made international headlines after the video went public.

Obrycka, 24, appeared at a Monday news conference announcing the lawsuit, saying she still fears retribution from police. She said she even went so far as to change her hair color from blonde to light red to avoid being recognized.

Her alleged attacker, 38-year-old Anthony Abbate, faces aggravated battery, intimidation, official misconduct and other felony charges. An indictment filed last week alleges Abbate, through an intermediary, tried to intimidate witnesses by threatening to plant drugs on bar employees and arrest customers for drunken driving.

Obrycka's civil rights lawsuit claims that damages to the bartender, the bar's owner and a manager amount to at least $1 million, and it accuses Chicago police of systematically covering up misbehavior by its officers for years.

As CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports, Obrycka's attorneys say the lawsuit is not only about money. It is about creating change in the police department.

"Essentially we are alleging that because of the policies and procedures and customs that have been in effect in the Chicago Police Department for many years, officers such as Abbate feel that they are above the law," said Obrycka's lawyer, Terry Ekl.

As CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports, Obrycka's attorneys say the lawsuit is not only about money. It is about creating change in the police department.

The complaint alleges that two friends of Abbate – Patti Chiriboga and Gary Ortiz – also captured on surveillance video, attempted to first bribe and then threaten Obrycka and bar management if they pursued their case. They are also named in the lawsuit.

"There is direct proof that Patti Chiriboga first met with Anthony Abbate and then delivered a specific threat against the bar manager, the bar owner and the manager of the bar if they should turn the tape over to OPS," Ekl said.

"As part of the policy we are going to attack is to show that based upon good old-fashioned Chicago clout, that unqualified individuals become Chicago police officers," Ekl said.

Ekl says Abbate was one of those officers.

"My position is from what we know about Tony Abbate there was all kinds of evidence in his psychological background that should have disqualified him to be a Chicago police officer.

But Ekl says that's just one part of a bigger problem. Covering up police misconduct is another.

Police spokesperson Monique Bond said specific changes have been made since Abbate's arrest. She also defended the department's procedures.

Abbate is facing more than a dozen felony counts over the matter. His attorneys were not available for comment. CBS 2 tried to reach out to Chiriboga unsuccessfully. Ortiz told CBS 2 simply, "No comment."

The surveillance video shows a man who police have identified as the 250-pound Abbate punching, beating and throwing the 115-pound woman to the ground.

Chicago Police Superintendent Phil Cline has said Abbate had "tarnished our image worse than anybody else in the history of the department," and vowed to speed up the process of getting officers accused of misconduct off the street. Soon after the incident, Cline announced he was retiring.

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