On March 28, 2010, Ex-Streamwood police officer James Mandarino tried to curb a car driven by 28-year-old Ronald Bell near Schaumburg Road and East Avenue in Streamwood. Bell didn’t stop his car until he got into his own driveway a few blocks away. And Mandarino was not happy. What happened next was caught on video:
The squad car video depicts a clearly unjustified beating, in which Mandarino gets out of his car with his gun drawn, hits Bell over the head with a metal baton 15 times while Bell cowers on his knees, and tazers Nolan Stalbaum, the passenger.
After this beating, Mandarino charged Bell with resisting arrest, reckless driving, and several traffic infractions. Mandarino charged Stalbaum with resisting. Because how better to justify excessive force than with false charges?
Thankfully, the video surfaced a few days later, and Mandarino was charged with two felonies: official misconduct and aggravated battery. In March of this year, Cook County Circuit Judge Thomas Fecarotta Jr. convicted Mandarino on both counts after a bench trial, reportedly saying: “If a picture speaks a thousand words, the video speaks a million.”
Today, Fecarotta sentenced Mandarino to 30 months of probation and 150 hours of community service.
Chicago Tribune has more coverage here.
