Chicago police officer faces dismissal for allegedly choking and beating pregnant girlfriend

A Chicago police officer faces dismissal for allegedly assaulting and abusing his pregnant girlfriend during their tumultuous relationship.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability ruled earlier this year that Officer Jose Moreno should be fired, insisting that his alleged history of domestic violence “should not be tolerated.”

“Most seriously, he strangled (the woman), which blocked her airway, and physically abused her while she was pregnant. Both acts indicate an escalating lethality,” COPA said in the Feb. 26 report. “Officer Moreno downplayed his behavior and took no responsibility for his actions.”

In December 2021, the woman told Chicago police that Moreno choked her and kicked her in the ribs in October, according to COPA. She also recalled another incident in which he allegedly threatened her with a gun while holding one of her children.

She filed for a restraining order the next day, and Moreno was arrested and charged in January 2022, COPA said. Court records show the restraining order has since been lifted and the assault case was dismissed within months.

Moreno remains on active duty and earns an annual salary of $97,926, according to city records. A police spokesman said he is assigned to the alternate duty unit, a unit staffed by officers with disciplinary problems and those who are not medically cleared for full duty.

COPA launched its investigation after the woman reported Moreno to police, who later described a pattern of abusive behavior that allegedly lasted for years.

The woman said Moreno locked her out of her home in the spring of 2021 when she was pregnant and then came outside with a gun in one hand and her child in the other. She also reported that Moreno hit her in the back around the same time, according to COPA.

In July 2021, just four days after giving birth, she said Moreno “tortured” her and threw her out of her house. “I’m going to make your life hell until you get out of here,” he reportedly said.

At one point, he filmed her crying while one of her children was nearby and she was holding a knife, according to the report. She told him she took the weapon “because you’re telling me to kill myself and I’m sick of all this shit.”

The following month, he attacked her when she tried to pick another fight, COPA said. At one point, he hit her wrist and thigh when he tried to take her cellphone.

During the October incident that led to his arrest, the couple began arguing and Moreno choked her. “She said it lasted about five seconds and she couldn’t breathe,” COPA said.

He then pushed her to the ground and “kicked her near the chest,” the regulator said. He eventually took her keys, packed her things and told her to leave, but she later returned to get her children.

Among other substantiated allegations, COPA found that Moreno beat, strangled and kicked the woman during her pregnancy.

It was not immediately known whether Police Chief Snelling agreed with the result.