CHICAGO (AP) — A judge who was caught on video apparently dropping a handgun in a Chicago courthouse has been acquitted of carrying a concealed weapon in a prohibited area.
Will County Circuit Judge Edward Burmila ruled Tuesday that it wasn’t clear from the surveillance video that the object that fell from Cook County Judge Joseph Claps’ jacket was a firearm.
Two sheriff’s deputies testified that they saw Claps drop and then pick up a gun in the lobby of the Leighton Criminal Court Building on July 3.
Claps’ attorney argued that neither deputy examined or confiscated the object that the judge dropped.
The 70-year-old Claps has been on administrative duties since his arrest.
Burmila handled the case due to Claps’ relationship with other Cook County judges, who generally preside over Chicago cases.
You know we can see you, right?
It’s OK he was white
It’s good to be an old white guy. I’m not confident this was the wrong ruling in this case, but the benefit of the doubt this society extends you is certainly not color-blind…
The fix was in as soon as none of the uniformed or nonuniformed people in the area went over and said “Excuse me, sir, was that a gun you just dropped and picked up?”
Obligatory: if he were of a different color and dress pattern he would have been thoroughly perforated, and the shooting would have been considered righteous because no one could tell for sure from the video that the thing he dropped wasn’t a gun.
Yes, despite only recovering his iPhone at the scene.