Former Robbins, Illinois police chief appears in court on charges of beating man inside village hall

Former Robbins, Illinois Police Chief Carl Scott appeared in criminal court on Tuesday for a hearing in connection to charges of brutally beating a man last summer inside village hall.

The man who accused Scott of attacking him was in court, coming face-to-face with Scott for the first time since the alleged attack in a back room of the Robbins police station. While James Snow he's still traumatized by what happened, he said he's determined now more than ever to get justice.

"It was overwhelming, you know, the entire feeling. It was definitely uncomfortable, but I just gave it all to God and just let him walk me through it," Snow said.

It has been more than eight months since Snow crossed paths with Scott.

Snow has said, the last time he saw Scott, he thought he was going to die when Scott allegedly attacked him inside Robbins Village Hall last July. Show has said the attack lasted about 10 minutes as Scott repeatedly punched him in the face and head while two  other officers looked on and did nothing.

"He took me in this room and slammed me down on this little metal plate where you sit at, and he told the two officers to cut the cameras off, and then he just started beating me," Snow said.

The alleged attack was the disturbing outcome of a visit to Robbins Village Hall last summer. Snow said he was simply exercising his First Amendment right as a so-called "First Amendment auditor," in which he films interactions with law enforcement officers and city employees on government property.

"Yeah, man, I'll be honest, especially when he asked the officers to get the baton. I thought he was gonna probably beat me to death," he said.

In August, Scott was charged with multiple offenses, including aggravated battery, official misconduct, and obstruction of justice – for attempting to destroy Snow's cell phone, which had recorded some of the assault.

Prosecutors said that cell phone was seized by Scott and thrown into a sewer drain after the attack.

"After what he did, it was no shock to me, because I mean what could you do worse than what you already done?" Snow said.

Scott resigned after the incident before the mayor of Robbins could fire him.

Snow and his attorney, Jed Stone, were both in Cook County criminal court on Tuesday to sit in on Scott's pre-trial hearing, where the former police chief was successfully served with a civil lawsuit in connection to the attack that they say never should have happened.

"This isn't some rookie cop that didn't know the difference. He was the chief of police of the village, and he beat my client," Stone said.

"I don't believe that anybody from the city of Robbins will encounter something like this again, because they see what's going on. You know, we're not gonna tolerate that. You know, the justice system is obviously not tolerating that," Snow said.

Scott is due back in court on May 5, when a trial date is expected to be set.