Abbate back on stand in 2nd day of civil trial

A former Chicago police officer convicted in a notorious beating is expected back on the stand at a trial focused on an alleged police department culture where officers look out for their own.

Tuesday is the second day of the civil trial stemming from Anthony Abbate’s 2007 attack on bartender Karolina Obrycka, a video of which went viral.

The 260-pound Abbate on Monday testified it was the 115-pound Obrycka who attacked him. As she listened, Obrycka never seemed to look at the fired police officer. Her lawsuit names Abbate and the city.

A plaintiff’s attorney told jurors officers habitually cover up misconduct by fellow officers. But a city attorney said Abbate wasn’t acting as an officer that night but was a drunken “idiot” acting on his own behalf.