The ABC7 I-Team first reported on Officer Joseph Vecchio earlier this year after he was relieved of police powers based on complaints and lawsuits piling up tied to his time on the Chicago Police Department's 1863 tactical team.
Drivers accused the 1863 tactical team of unlawfully stopping and searching drivers in the Near North and Gold Coast Neighborhoods over many years.
Now, Vecchio is facing a felony aggravated domestic battery charge, and a judge has ruled he should stay incarcerated until trial, according to court records.
Just last week, the Chicago Police Board announced it was recommended Vecchio be discharged from the department based on sustained findings of misconduct.
Violent attack
It was on the night of Aug. 18 when a woman told investigators she had to scale down a third-story O'Hare apartment balcony to find a neighbor and get to police.
Bleeding and bruised, the woman would later tell police investigators she was escaping her boyfriend, Officer Vecchio, after he punched and strangled her, kept her from leaving his apartment, and threatened he would "not have to use his gun to kill her that he can just crack her skull," according to Cook County prosecutors.
Prosecutors would tell a judge that when Vecchio strangled the woman, she was "unable to breathe for 10-15 seconds."
When Vecchio left the apartment to pick up a food delivery, the woman said she took a chance and escaped through the apartment's balcony to get help.
Vecchio has been charged with felony aggravated domestic battery, and he turned himself in to police on Aug. 21, according to court records.
After viewing photos of the woman's injuries, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Michael Hogan, Jr. ordered Vecchio be held behind bars until trial.
The I-Team first learned of Officer Vecchio's name after investigating dozens of drivers who said they were unlawfully stopped and searched by the Chicago police department's 1863 tactical team over the past five years.
Vecchio was one of eight members on the team.
In misconduct complaints filed with the city, and more than a dozen lawsuits, drivers have accused members of the team, including Vecchio, of racial profiling, and for violating their constitutional rights when they were pulled over and searched in Chicago's Near North and Gold Coast neighborhoods, including along the Magnificent Mile.
Police records state over the course of Officer Vecchio's six years working for CPD, he accumulated 76 complaints including allegations of "unjustified traffic stops, arrests, searches and unprofessional conduct."
The Civilian Office for Police Accountability (COPA), the city's police oversight agency, said an analysis found Vecchio had the highest number of complaints compared to any other employees in the department.
COPA said half of those misconduct complaints "revealed findings of misconduct," according to an internal memo obtained by the I-Team via a Freedom of Information Act request.
A spokesperson for CPD told the I-Team Vecchio was relieved of police powers in October 2025, meaning he was assigned to desk duty and had to surrender his badge and service weapon.
Police records obtained by the I-Team show this isn't the first time Vecchio was accused of domestic assault or harassment.
In 2020, COPA investigators received a complaint from a woman who said Vecchio, her boyfriend at the time, got into an argument with her and damaged her belongings. The investigation resulted in a recommended 15-day suspension.
And in 2024, COPA investigators investigated another complaint that Vecchio yelled at a woman, pulled her hair and repeatedly punched her. That complaint investigation remains ongoing.
No criminal charges were filed in either of those past cases.
Police board recommends termination
At a Chicago police board meeting on Aug. 20, it was announced Officer Vecchio is now facing termination.
Board members recommended discipline against Vecchio in several cases, and in one case, former CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling agreed Vecchio should be fired.
"The Chief Administrator recommended that Police Officer Joseph Vecchio be discharged from the Chicago Police Department," said Chicago Police Board President Kyle Cooper. "The superintendent agreed with the recommendation to discharge Officer Vecchio from the CPD."
The I-Team found Officer Vecchio has been named in 19 federal civil rights lawsuits filed against the city of Chicago since 2024. In several lawsuits, the city and officers have denied allegations of wrongdoing in court.
In addition to Officer Vecchio, four other members of the eight-person 1863 tactical team have been relieved of police powers since the I-Team's initial reporting.
You can contact the Illinois domestic violence hotline at 1-877-863-6338 click here for more information.