Brother and sister charged with attacking Chicago police officer who tried to give them ticket in McKinley Park
A brother and sister have been charged with attacking a Chicago police officer with brass knuckles after he tried to give them a ticket Tuesday night in McKinley Park.
Michael Sopher, 33, has been charged with aggravated battery to a police officer, one count of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, and one count of violating the sex offender registry. His sister, 31-year-old Monica Mejia, is charged with two counts of aggravated battery to a police officer and one count of criminal damage to property.
Cook County prosecutors said the pair have a history of violence against police and knowingly attacked Officer Kevin Mangan while he was in uniform on Tuesday night, knocking out his teeth.
Mangan's family said he was just doing his job when he was attacked.
"These are violent criminals, career criminals, and they should have never been let out for their previous crimes," said Mangan's mother, Carol.
Investigators said Mangan was on scene at 37th and Marshfield when Sopher and Mejia pulled up and blocked Mangan's squad car and an ambulance from leaving.
Prosecutors said Mangan tried writing them a ticket. That's when the confrontation started.
Police said Mejia tried to break the window of Mangan's squad car, and then pushed him and his partner when they tried to detain her. Prosecutors said Sopher attacked Mangan with brass knuckles, punching Mangan in the face.
Mangan lost several teeth in the attack, and was still in the hospital on Thursday, recovering from his injuries
Mejia's defense attorney argued the siblings were responding to an emergency at their father's home, and had begged the officers not to write them a ticket before the confrontation turned physical.
Prosecutors and the officer's family said Mangan was attacked because he was in a uniform.
"I think that also what our family wants to convey is that no police officer should have to second-guess their actions when their life is at risk," said Mangan's aunt, Denise McBroom.
Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), whose ward includes the scene of the attack, said "there is nothing simple" about police officer's jobs anymore.
"The job of a police officer is already difficult. We have a society that rewards lawlessness, we have a city that elevates criminality, and we have institutions and political leaders that seek to demonize the police on a daily basis," he said.
Prosecutors said both Sopher and Mejia have a history of violence against police officers.
According to prosecutors, Mejia was convicted of aggravated battery against a police officer in 2022. In 2023, she was charged with resisting arrest.
Prosecutors said Sopher also has a lengthy criminal background dating back to 2021, including convictions of sexual assault of a child in Indiana, and several car break-ins. Court records show he also was charged last year with domestic battery and resisting police, but the charges were dismissed.