Cook County prosecutors said Chicago Police Officer Paul Powers wanted to "open a can of whoop-ass" before he and his wayward Area 4 Gun Team colleagues carried out an "unprovoked ambush" at the Jefferson Tap & Grille.
"Why did they do it? Because they felt like it, judge. That's why," Assistant State's Attorney Lauren Freeman said of the off-duty officers' conduct on Dec. 15, 2006.
But defense attorneys argued Wednesday it was the "loudmouth drunks" who deserve blame in the brawl that led to aggravated-battery charges against Powers, Sgt. Jeffery Planey and Officer Gregory Barnes. Two of the alleged victims, Barry Gilfand and his older brother Aaron, have zero credibility, and their identifications of who attacked them were shaky at best, defense lawyers said during closing arguments of the trial before Judge Thomas Gainer Jr.
"Calling them victims is an insult," said William Fahy, Barnes' attorney. The men lied to bolster their pending civil case against the officers, the defense attorneys said.
Lightfoot admitted that Powers was depressed over his father's recent death and perhaps agitated someone at the bar called him a p - - - - for shedding a tear, but said he was not the "vicious monster" the Gilfands portray.
Freeman countered that Planey, who testified that he was trying to defuse the violence, was looking out for his "baby bear," referring to Powers. "What the evidence shows is that they [officers] were serving themselves, and they were protecting each other," she said.
Gainer is expected to issue a verdict April 24.
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