DuPage cops cleared of excessive force charges

A federal judge Friday dismissed charges of excessive force against a DuPage County sheriff's deputy stemming from a 2010 drug arrest.

Northern District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman dismissed the charges against Tracy Reed before a jury found four other officers from Woodridge and Lisle not guilty of the same charges.

The jury deliberated for less than an hour before finding Reed's co-defendants and members of the DuPage County Tactical Narcotics Team not guilty. The officers were Detective James Eccardt and officer Michael Wolfe of the Woodridge Police Department and officer Brian Michaels and Detective Justin Louis of the Lisle Police Department.

Convicted drug dealer Donald Miller alleged that on June 30, 2010, some officers used excessive force during his arrest while others did nothing to stop them.

"Miller's accusations were completely unfounded and were an obvious attempt to even the score with the fine officers involved in the drug case against him, for which he is currently serving seven years in the Illinois Department of Corrections," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement.

Calls to the sheriff's office were not immediately returned Friday.