South suburban police officer charged after violent encounter with 66-year-old woman

Eric Horng Image
Thursday, January 16, 2020
Dixmoor Police Commander Ronald Burge, Jr. charged with aggravated battery over encounter with 66-year-old woman
A Dixmoor cop is facing an aggravated battery charge over an altercation with a 66-year-old woman.

DIXMOOR, Ill. (WLS) -- A Dixmoor cop is facing an aggravated battery charge over an altercation with a 66-year-old woman.

Dixmoor Commander Ronald Burge, Jr. is charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct over the encounter with Carla Bourgouis.

Bourgouis said she was at the Dixmoor police station in October after her grandson was arrested.

According to prosecutors, Burge then arrested that boy's father when he refused to hand over a cell phone he'd been using to record their conversation. That's when Bourgouis said she too began recording.

"And then he looked at me and said, 'Give me my phone, your phone.' And I said, 'No, you can't have my phone,' so I began to leave out of the police station. And what I did is I ran out of there," Bourgouis said.

Prosecutor said Burge chased after Bourgouis.

Video obtained by ABC 7 shows Burge with an arm around her and a gun in the other hand.

"The defendant then carried and dragged the victim back to the police station with her feet at times dangling off the ground," said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Heather Weber.

She said Burge "then purposefully slammed the victim's face into the back hallway wall on three separate occasions."

Dixmoor Police Chief Roanld Burge, Sr., the commander's father, defended his son's actions Wednesday, releasing video that shows Bourgouis breaching a secure area and then ignoring arrest orders.

"She's shorter than he is. She grabbed him in his private parts and refused to let go," Burge, Sr. said.

The police chief said Bourgouis' actions forced officers to chase her down.

"She hit her head against the wall because they're trying to control her," he said.

All charges against Bourgouis were dropped by Cook County prosecutors.

She denies hitting or grabbing Burge.

Burge is expected to be placed on administrative leave or desk duty, authorities said.