Former Springfield Police sergeant pleads not guilty in aggravated DUI case
Making a brief first appearance in Sangamon County Court Tuesday, former Springfield Police Sgt. Michael Egan pleaded not guilty to a single charge of aggravated DUI causing great bodily harm.
Egan, 50, was wearing an orange-striped Sangamon County Jail issued uniform when he appeared before Associate Judge Rudolph Braud.
Egan spent the night in the Sangamon County Jail.
More: 'Our blood bleeds the same.' Favoritism of former police sergeant cited at crash
Egan, said Sangamon County State's Attorney John Milhiser, was released from custody with conditions after the hearing.
Egan cannot legally drive a vehicle or go to any bars. He must undergo a drug and alcohol assessment and cooperate with probation.
Braud set an Oct. 3 preliminary hearing for Egan, who faces 1 to 12 years behind bars if convicted. The charge is probation eligible.
It was not immediately clear if Egan had legal representation.
Illinois State Police said Egan's vehicle was traveling northbound on East Lake Shore Drive Thursday evening and made a left turn in front of a motorcycle, which crashed into Egan's SUV.
Chelsey Farley, a passenger on the motorcycle, had multiple broken bones and fractures and damaged organs from the crash. She underwent an 11-hour surgery on Saturday and was scheduled for another surgery on Monday.
Farley's boyfriend, Trevor Hopkins, who was operating the motorcycle, had a head injury but has been discharged from the hospital, according to Farley's sister, Caitlyn Weiss.
A Springfield Police lieutenant at the crash scene called in ISP to take over the crash and subsequent DUI investigation.
Witnesses to the crash said it appeared that Egan, who had retired that day and whose retirement party was set for Friday, got preferential treatment.
Jason Rule, a motorcyclist who was following Hopkins and Farley but did not know the couple, saw Egan sitting in the front seat of an ISP cruiser.
"He was leaning out of the window, laughing at us," Rule told The State Journal-Register Monday.
Rule said he was close enough to Egan that he could "smell liquor on his breath, for sure."
A representative speaking for ABATE of Illinois, Josh Witkowski, said Monday that even though the sergeant showed visible signs of impairment, SPD officers appeared to be "palling around with their colleague rather than acknowledging the seriousness of the situation.
"Palling around does not build trust," Witkowski added. "That does not lead one to believe that we will all be treated equally under the eyes of the law."
SPD Chief Ken Scarlette said an internal investigation about conduct of officers at the crash scene had been started.
Egan was arrested Monday by ISP troopers and U.S. Marshals as a confrontational protest at the Municipal Building East, which headquarters SPD, erupted.
About 30 protesters, some banging on the building's windows and shouting "No justice, no peace, prosecute the police!", briefly made it into the foyer before they were turned away.
Officers later appeared with shields to prevent them from re-entering the building.
One person was arrested and one person was cited at the scene.
Egan had 23 years with SPD.
According to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, Egan was an officer with the Springfield Park District Police Department for about a year-and-a-half beginning in 1998. He then worked for the Loami and Leland Grove police departments on a part-time basis before being hired by SPD in 2001.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Former Springfield Police sergeant pleaded not guilty to a DUI charge
