CHICAGO COP CAUGHT PUNCHING MAN 20 TIMES IN HOLDING CELL

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Surveillance footage released Tuesday shows a Chicago police officer repeatedly punching a man in a holding cell more than three years ago.

The video shows Officer Enrique Delgado Fernandez delivering nearly 20 closed-fist blows to Damien Stewart in the lockup at the South Chicago District after he was allegedly caught with a gun during a confrontational traffic stop on May 18, 2019.

The video was released at a City Hall news conference by activist William Calloway, who said Stewart was moved to release the footage after watching the deadly beating of Tyre Nichols by a group of police officers during a traffic stop in Memphis, Tennessee, earlier this month.

Nichols’ beating, captured on video, and subsequent death have prompted widespread protests and criminal charges against five officers.

Calloway called for the firing of Delgado Fernandez and Sgt. Jerald Williams, who also entered Stewart’s cell and grabbed him. The officers have already served suspensions, according to a police spokesperson.

“There’s no place on this police force … for that type of uncalled [for] violence on an unarmed man that’s already in police custody,” said Calloway, who helped force city officials to release the video of Laquan McDonald’s killing at the hands of a Chicago police officer. “It’s uncalled for, and it’s appalling.”

In May 2021, Stewart pleaded guilty to felony counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated assault of a peace officer. That September, he reached a $45,000 settlement in a federal lawsuit he filed against Delgado Fernandez, Williams and the city.

More than a year later, Calloway said Stewart is still reeling from the beating.

“These officers are still on the street,” he said. “The city never issued an apology to what the police officers did to him.”