Candidate Wins Challenge of Disqualification Based On Arrest For Cocaine Possession
Chicago Police Applicant J.N. was disqualified from the eligibility list for the position of probationary police officer for criminal conduct. Conduct alleged was that Applicant was arrested in 1999 for cocaine possession while he was the passenger in a car where cocaine was discovered. J.N. never stated the cocaine was his. J.N.'s arrest record shows the case was marked Nolle Prosequi (meaning the prosecutor declared he would not further prosecute the case). A hearing was held and documents of the 1999 incident presented. The hearing officer found that it was not shown J.N. was in possession of cocaine or convicted of possession, but merely that he had been arrested for it and the state decided not to prosecute the case against him. The Department did not prove its case by a preponderance of the evidence, and J.N. was placed back on the eligibility list. 16HRB026 (2016)