source: WTTW News
published: 19 November 2019
Family and supporters of Rekia Boyd erupted into applause inside a Cook County courtroom Tuesday after a judge denied a request from Dante Servin, the former Chicago police detective who was charged and acquitted in her killing, to expunge any record of his criminal case from the public’s view.
In announcing his decision Tuesday, Judge LeRoy K. Martin Jr. said that just because Servin was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter, that “does not make one innocent.” He based his ruling on the evidence prosecutors presented in the case in 2015, and the fact that the trial judge felt those facts better aligned with first-degree murder.
“So based upon the strength of that evidence, based upon the findings that that court made – and candidly, hearing nothing else about it – I don’t believe it prudent to grant Mr. Servin’s request,” Martin said. That decision prompted applause from the courtroom gallery before Martin and a court bailiff ordered them to stop.
Servin, 51, testified last week at a hearing that he’s been unable to find steady work since resigning as an officer in 2016. He sought expungement, he said, because he wants a “fresh start” and the chance to provide for his family. But Cook County prosecutors had objected to that move, arguing that the public has a right to know about the case.
