Chicago cop with most misconduct complaints jailed for attacking girlfriend

Officer Joseph Vecchio, named in 76 complaints and 19 federal lawsuits, has been ordered held until trial on felony domestic battery charges.

Chicago officer with record misconduct complaints held without bail after girlfriend assault

A Chicago Police Department officer who accumulated more misconduct complaints than any other employee in the department's history is now behind bars, charged with felony aggravated domestic battery after his girlfriend was forced to scale down a third-storey balcony to escape his apartment and reach help.

According to abc7chicago.com's I-Team, Officer Joseph Vecchio, a member of the CPD's now-scrutinised 1863 tactical team, was accused of punching and strangling his girlfriend on the night of 18 August at his O'Hare-area apartment. The woman, bleeding and bruised, told investigators that Vecchio kept her from leaving and threatened that he "would not have to use his gun to kill her — that he can just crack her skull," Cook County prosecutors said.

When Vecchio left the apartment to collect a food delivery, the woman seized the opportunity and climbed down the balcony to a neighbouring unit before reaching police.

Ordered held until trial

Vecchio turned himself in to police on 21 August. After viewing photographs of the woman's injuries, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Michael Hogan Jr. ordered him held in custody pending trial. Prosecutors told the court that during the strangling, the victim was "unable to breathe for 10 to 15 seconds."

A record of complaints

Over six years with the CPD, Vecchio accumulated 76 misconduct complaints covering allegations of unjustified traffic stops, unlawful searches, arrests and unprofessional conduct, according to police records obtained by the I-Team. The Civilian Office for Police Accountability (COPA), the city's police oversight body, found through internal analysis that Vecchio held the highest complaint count of any CPD employee. Half of those complaints, COPA noted in an internal memo obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request, "revealed findings of misconduct."

Vecchio was one of eight officers assigned to the 1863 tactical team, which drew accusations of systematically stopping and searching drivers without lawful cause in Chicago's Near North and Gold Coast neighbourhoods, including along the Magnificent Mile, over a period of roughly five years. Drivers named team members, including Vecchio, in more than a dozen civil lawsuits alleging racial profiling and violations of constitutional rights.

The I-Team first reported on Vecchio earlier this year, after he was relieved of police powers in October 2025 — assigned to desk duty and required to surrender his badge and service weapon — as complaints and lawsuits tied to his time on the tactical team continued to mount.

Termination recommended

One day before Vecchio turned himself in, at a Chicago Police Board meeting on 20 August, the board announced it was recommending his discharge from the department based on sustained misconduct findings.

"The Chief Administrator recommended that Police Officer Joseph Vecchio be discharged from the Chicago Police Department," said Chicago Police Board President Kyle Cooper. "The superintendent agreed with the recommendation to discharge Officer Vecchio from the CPD."

Former CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling had previously agreed that Vecchio should be fired, according to board records.

Earlier domestic complaints

The current arrest is not the first time Vecchio faced domestic allegations. In 2020, COPA received a complaint from a woman who said Vecchio, then her boyfriend, argued with her and damaged her belongings; the investigation resulted in a recommended 15-day suspension. In 2024, investigators opened a separate complaint alleging Vecchio pulled a woman's hair and repeatedly punched her; that inquiry remains ongoing. No criminal charges were filed in either of those earlier cases.

Federal civil rights exposure

The I-Team found Vecchio has been named in 19 federal civil rights lawsuits filed against the city of Chicago since 2024. In several of those cases, the city and the named officers have denied the allegations in court filings.

Four other members of the eight-person 1863 tactical team have also been relieved of police powers since the I-Team's initial reporting on the unit.

--- Anyone in Illinois seeking help related to domestic violence can contact the state hotline at 1-877-863-6338.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)