Chicago cop charged with attempted murder for drunk off-duty shooting

(The AEGIS Alliance) – CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – A Chicago police officer was charged Wednesday with attempted murder after being accused of firing his gun at a man while off-duty and drunk in October 2020.

38-year-old Joseph Cabrera had previously been charged with aggravated disorderly conduct and discharge of a firearm, however, on Wednesday he was additionally charged with attempted first-degree murder in a grand jury indictment, according to the Chicago Tribune.

He is now also facing charges of false reporting and obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors say Cabrera fired a single bullet at an unidentified man during a fight on October 13 after which he lied in his initial report.

According to investigators, Cabrera drove his personal automobile behind a pair sitting in a parked car and asked if they wanted assistance. They declined and drove around the block to try and keep away from any further incidents.

The couple returned to discover that Cabrera had left, investigators said, only for him to pull behind them once more, knock on the man’s window and ask them to go away. The man got out of the car and a shouting match started.

Prosecutors say Cabrera then grabbed the person’s neck. The man responded by punching Cabrera in his head, after which Cabrera fired a single shot towards the man’s legs and missed, investigators said.

Cabrera dialed 911 to report the incident but falsely claimed he’d been attacked, prosecutors say. Four hours later, he blew a 0.104 on a Breathalyzer check, above the 0.08 legal driving limit.

The man was briefly detained due to Cabrera’s alleged inaccurate report but then was released and never charged.

Cabrera has not disputed that he fired the shot, as an alternative arguing he acted in self-defense.

He is on leave until an investigation is finished. Police placed on administrative leave in general often still get paid during that time, so it’s likely seen as a paid vacation for police officers who often only get a slap on the wrist or get away with their crimes.

Kyle James Lee – The AEGIS Alliance – This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.