Months after he was acquitted by a jury of misdemeanor battery charges, a Rockford Police Department officer accused of smashing a handcuffed man’s head into a window has been fired.
Officer Frank Fabiani was terminated after an internal police department review of the May 14, 2022, incident, according to a June 24 termination letter written by Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd.
In the letter, Redd writes that Fabiani violated department general orders and rules of conduct after handcuffing Alize Jones, a suspect in a domestic violence investigation.
“While Alize Jones was handcuffed behind his back, Ofc. Fabiani used his hand to make forceful contact with Alize Jones’ neck,” Redd wrote. “The force of the contact caused Alize Jones to fall backwards into the wall behind him and his head to strike a window, shattering it.”
Redd said Jones was standing still, had made no threats and was not resisting arrest at the time of the incident.
Fabiani failed to follow police general orders calling for “de-escalation techniques and other alternatives to higher levels of force” whenever possible, Redd wrote. She also said that Fabiani’s actions had brought discredit to the department and that he mistreated a suspect under his authority among other infractions.
Attorneys for Fabiani did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Winnebago County prosecutors charged Fabiani with misdemeanor battery. A jury in February acquitted him after a trial.
Fabiani had been placed on administrative leave after the incident pending the outcome of the internal investigation and criminal case.
It was the second time Fabiani had ben charged with battery while on duty with the Rockford Police Department. Battery charges had previously been dropped after Fabiani had been charged following the arrest of William “Sage” Patrick Gettings, an activist who had been accused of resisting arrest, spitting on an officer and trying to take Fabiani’s gun out of its holster.
Authorities said Gettings had not complied with the Fabiani’s commands during a June 2020 traffic stop before a confrontation ensued. Later, charges against Gettings were dropped. Charges of battery filed against Fabiani were also eventually dropped.
Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on X @jeffkolkey.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford terminates officer who had twice been accused of battering suspects
Reporting by Jeff Kolkey, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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