Sgt. John Poulos
Sgt. John Poulos, the Chicago police officer who ran for Cook County judge years after he killed two Black men while on the force, lost his campaign in the March 19 Primary.
According to the latest results from the Chicago Board of Elections, in the race for the new 20th judicial subcircuit, which covers a large swath of the North Side, Poulos finished last among four candidates. He took just 4.05 percent of the vote. The winner is veteran attorney Nadine Jean Wichern, who took over 51 percent of the vote. Attorney Michael Zink took 23.15 percent of the vote and Nickolas Pappas took 21.75 percent of the vote.
Poulos lost despite having more campaign donations than any of his opponents. Records show Poulos raised $512,000, but those donations came only from his wife, Marjorie Poulos, who gave $500,000 while John himself gave $12,000.
Wichern raised $207,800 in campaign donations and Zink raised nearly $31,000. Pappas raised over $32,018.
Poulos was seeking to become a judge in the notorious criminal justice system. In addition to killing two Black men, a Block Club Chicago investigation revealed that Poulos omitted previous arrests on his job application for a police officer and made inappropriate business dealings while he was on an extended leave of absence from the police department. The investigation also revealed that Poulos blocked undocumented domestic violence victims from applying for legal status.
Police officials reportedly tried to fire Poulos in 2017 but failed primarily because they took more than a decade to file the charges.
Poulos is a licensed family attorney whose firm is located on the North Side, according to the online law directory Avvo. City records show Poulos currently makes $132,906 a year as a sergeant with the Chicago Police Department.
Polous shot and killed two Black men in two separate shootings, in 2013 and 2016. Both shootings resulted in $2 million legal settlements to the families of Rickey Rozelle, 28, and Kajuan Raye, 19.
Polous fatally shot Rozelle on August 13, 2013, during a confrontation in Old Town on the North Side. According to the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA), Polous told police he was coming from Gamekeepers, his family business; when he thought he saw Rozelle burglarizing a neighbor’s vacant apartment building in the 1900 block of North Lincoln Avenue.
After Poulos said he announced himself as a cop and called 911, he said Rozelle threatened his life and lunged at him.
Poulos told the IPRA he shot Rozelle after the man appeared to pull out “a shiny metallic object.” The IPRA said police recovered “a large, chrome-colored watch,” but no weapon.
Poulos shot Rozelle with a revolver belonging to his brother and told police he hadn’t been drinking.
The IPRA ruled Poulos’ use of force complied with Department policy. Five years later, the city in July 2018 approved a $950,000 settlement with Rozelle’s sister.
Polous was named “officer of the month” in July 2014 by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and was recommended for promotion to sergeant, a title he currently has.
Poulos was involved in another fatal shooting on November 23, 2016. He shot and killed Kajuan Raye during a foot pursuit in West Englewood.
According to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), Poulos was responding to a police dispatch call of battery when he saw Raye and tried to stop him, according to COPA. Poulos said Raye matched the description given of the attacker. Poulos said he chased after Raye when he ran to the 6500 block of South Marshfield Avenue.
Poulos told COPA he fired twice after Raye turned and pointed a gun at him. Police, however, initially couldn’t find a weapon. Raye died from a gunshot wound to his back.
In its final report, COPA concluded it was “likely and reasonable” that Raye had been carrying that gun and “posed an immediate threat” to Poulos’ life.
Raye’s mother, Karonisha Ramsey, filed a federal lawsuit against the city. A jury found that the shooting was unjustified and awarded Ramsey more than $1 million, including $11,586 to cover the teenager’s funeral costs.
Ramsey’s lawyer, Michael Oppenheimer, said in the Sun-Times, “I find it offensive he’s actually running for judge. The people of Cook County do not need to be served by this man. He has already betrayed their trust in him by wrongfully killing another human being.”
While the shooting was under investigation, Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson in 2017 recommended to the Chicago Police Board to terminate Poulos after Johnson learned of an unresolved disciplinary case in 2007. In that case, Poulos had failed to disclose he’d been arrested while applying to become a cop and that he’d held an ownership stake in his family’s bar after being hired.
Although the initial investigation was completed in February 2007, the Chicago Police Board never acted upon the findings.
Questions remain as to why Poulos was promoted to sergeant despite the unresolved disciplinary charges. There were also questions about reports of Poulos being injured on the job in March 2002. He didn’t return to work until June 2010 and said the Department doesn’t serve cops with disciplinary charges while they are on leave.
Poulos successfully filed a motion to dismiss the disciplinary case after the Board, under then-President Lori Lightfoot, ruled in February 2018 that Johnson’s “lengthy and unexplained delay” in filing the charges violated a Department policy affording cops the right to “thorough” and “prompt” disciplinary proceedings.
