Elgin police officer turns self in, posts bond after indictment

Elgin police officer Chris Darr was released on $5,000 bond Wednesday after he turned himself in at the Kane County jail on two aggravated battery charges.

Darr was indicted Tuesday on charges he punched Kevin Schwartz in the head after a New Year's Eve melee at the Holiday Inn on Airport Road in which Darr's father was seriously injured.

Schwartz suffered various injuries on his head and face when he was punched several times on State Street near Jerusha Avenue, court documents show.

Elgin police did not immediately respond for comment.

Darr is due in court April 18. His attorney, Gary Johnson, has said he plans to contest the felony allegations.

He turned himself in abut noon and posted bond about an hour later, Sheriff's Lt. Pat Gengler said.

The officer was placed on paid leave the day he was charged and was stripped of his police powers in the wake of an internal investigation launched in mid-January.

The fight broke out about 2 a.m. after several of men were barred from a private party at the Holiday Inn, where Darr's father, Jack, worked security.

The elder Darr, a retired Elgin deputy police chief, suffered a broken ribs and a punctured lung and his partner, James Elwood, was hit on the head with a beer bottle, police have said.

Schwartz was among nine people arrested on various offenses in the fight, but his charges have been dropped, according to his attorney, Michael Oppenheimer.

The Chicago attorney said his client plans to file a federal lawsuit -- likely in a week -- that alleges Schwartz was handcuffed in the back of a squad car when he was attacked by the off-duty Chris Darr.

"It's the right move to indict him," Oppenheimer said.