2 Cook County sheriff's deputies detained on judge's order during court, forced to apologize
Two Cook County sheriff's deputies were detained by a judge's order while on court duty and forced to apologize before they were released.
On Wednesday, the deputies were on court duty at the Leighton Criminal Court Building at 26th and California, when Judge John Lyke ordered them taken into custody for criminal contempt after the officers refused to let a man charged with murder hug his family members.
The deputies were not free to leave for about 30 to 45 minutes, which they spent in the sheriff's office behind the courtroom, before they were summoned back before the judge. The sheriff's office said the judge told them what they said next would determine whether he had them arrested for contempt of court or not, and so the deputies apologized, saying they weren't aware of Judge Lyke's rules that allow brief hugs between defendants and family members.
Lyke is the same judge who came under fire for releasing Alphonso Talley on electronic monitoring before he was later charged with killing a Chicago police officer at Swedish Hospital.
The sheriff's office released a statement, writing in part, "This is not the first time Judge Lyke has threatened to jail our staff for doing their jobs. While the Sheriff's Office understands that members of the judiciary have wide latitude in how they run their courtrooms, Judge Lyke's disrespectful and inappropriate treatment of our staff is completely unacceptable."
CBS News Chicago also reached out to Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Charles Beach who sent us the following statement: "The Court values its longstanding partnership with the Cook County Sheriff's Office and recognizes the important roles of Sheriff's personnel in maintaining courthouse safety and judges in maintaining order in their courtrooms. We have reviewed the September 9 incident and discussed the matter with Cook County Sheriff's Office leadership to ensure a clear understanding of applicable procedures and responsibilities."
