Officer gets 40-months in wheelchair beating

A Chicago police officer who was caught on videotape repeatedly striking a man who was handcuffed and shackled to a wheelchair has been sentenced to three years and five months in federal prison.

William Cozzi stood expressionless as U.S. District Judge Blanche Manning imposed the sentence Thursday.

Cozzi had pleaded guilty to a civil rights violation for inflicting the beating in a hospital emergency room.

The man was the victim of a stabbing and had been brought to the hospital. Cozzi was sent to the hospital to investigate.

Cozzi had earlier pleaded guilty to a state misdemeanor charge and sentenced to 18 months of probation. But police Supt. Jody Weis, a former FBI official, referred the case to the federal government.