Chicago police officer beaten, teeth knocked out in McKinley Park attack

A Chicago police officer's family said he's lucky to be alive after he was attacked on Tuesday night in the McKinley Park neighborhood.

Officer Kevin Mangan has a long road ahead because of the injuries he suffered.

A man and a woman were in custody on Wednesday night, and charges were pending against them for beating Mangan so badly they knocked out his teeth. He'll be unable to chew solid food for months, and will be off the job even longer.

Mangan's family insisted he was targeted because he is a cop.

Tuesday night near 37th and Marshfield, officers responded to a frantic "10-1" call of an officer in distress.

Police said Mangan needed medical attention after he was assaulted on the job.

Mangan's mother, Carol, received a call telling her, "he was assaulted and in a fight, but it was really bad."

"Kevin was writing a ticket, and he had brass knuckles. So, he was arrested with brass knuckles, he had brass knuckles, I'm pretty sure brass knuckles are illegal in every state," said Kevin's aunt, Denise McBroom.

Mangan's family said, when the suspect hit him with those brass knuckles, those blows left his mouth badly damaged.

"He had missing teeth, and they were embedded in the roof of his mouth," his aunt said.

Police said Mangan had responded to 37th and Marshfield because three people pulled up and blocked an ambulance from leaving a separate scene in McKinley Park.

When Mangan started writing that ticket, police said a 30-year-old woman started banging on a squad car. Then she and a 33-year-old man attacked Mangan.

"All it takes is one punch. I mean,  you could kill somebody. He's lucky that he's alive," his aunt said.

Since the attackers were not a part of the original call, the family insisted Mangan was targeted simply because he wears the badge.

McBroom said the man who attacked Mangan yelled "a bunch of expletives and how much he beats up P.O.'s and how much he likes to beat up P.O.'s."

Mangan's family said the lack of respect law enforcement faces daily is growing and a message must be sent.

"To me, this is attempted murder, and I hope that that's what he gets charged with," his mother said.

Police said the investigation into the attack on Mangan is ongoing.