Chicago Police Officer Charged with Witness Harassment
A Chicago police officer, Marco Torres, aged 40, is facing criminal charges for allegedly threatening another officer who was set to testify against him in a legal proceeding. The charges include one count of harassing a witness in connection with threats made to a 41-year-old detective in May of the previous year.
According to a report by the Chicago Police Department’s Bureau of Internal Affairs, Torres contacted the detective on May 20, 2024, in an attempt to dissuade her from testifying in an ongoing assault case. He pleaded with her not to testify, stating, “It’s me, Marco. I’ve been crying. Please do not testify against me.”
Further communication included text messages where Torres allegedly wrote, “This is my life please dont [sic] testify i always cover my tracks…” and “I would hope that you keep this between us. Or my comander [sic] will get you fired.”
As a result of these allegations, Judge James Costello placed Torres on a GPS monitor and required him to surrender his firearms and firearms licenses while the case is pending. If Torres is unable to possess firearms, he may be ineligible to continue working as a Chicago Police Department officer.
Torres had previously been given 12 months of court supervision last November after being found guilty of misdemeanor assault. This case involved accusations that he had threatened to kill another detective within his unit. Torres is currently appealing this sentence as it also mandates the surrender of his firearms, which could impact his employment as a police officer. He has requested to only be prohibited from possessing firearms while off-duty.
Following these incidents, CPD revoked Torres’ police powers last year as an internal investigation into his conduct continues.
Tim Hecke is CWBChicago’s managing partner. He started his career at KMOX, the legendary news radio station in St. Louis. From there, he moved on to work at stations in Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York City. Tim went on to build syndicated radio news and content services that served every one of America’s 100 largest radio markets. He became CWBChicago’s managing partner in 2019.
His email address is tim@cwbchicago.com
