Des Plaines Commission disciplines suspended officer

The three-member Des Plaines Police and Fire Commission Wednesday decided to suspend without pay an 18-year police veteran, Sgt. Matthew R. Hicks, pending a disciplinary hearing.

Hicks, 45, was first suspended with pay in April after being charged with physically assaulting his wife on April 18 and interfering with authorities on the reporting of a domestic battery in their Huntley home. His next court appearance is set for Aug. 25 in McHenry County. A jury trial is set for 10 a.m. Nov. 23 before McHenry County Judge Gordon Graham.

Hicks also faces seven internal Des Plaines Police Department charges for violating department rules and regulations and state laws. They are: inability to act as a police officer, untruthfulness, insubordination, theft and official misconduct, domestic battery and official misconduct, interfering with the reporting of domestic violence and official misconduct, and conduct unbecoming.

The Des Plaines Police and Fire Commission set hearing dates for Hicks on those changes for Sept. 13, 16 and Oct. 4. After hearing arguments from both sides, the board will consider disciplinary actions against Hicks that could include his firing.

Hicks was arrested around 1 a.m. April 18 at his home in the 11000 block of Cape Cod. He and his wife were returning from an evening out and got into a verbal argument in the car, according to Huntley Police.

The fight escalated when they got home. Hicks struck his wife on the head with his fist, pulled her hair, and prevented her from calling police by taking the phone away, police said.

The woman ran out of the house and up to a police squad car that was in the neighborhood on another call and asked the officer for help. She had visible injuries and was bleeding, but was not taken to the hospital, police said.

Police took Hicks into custody and charged him with domestic battery and unlawful interference with reporting domestic violence - Class A misdemeanors carrying a maximum punishment of up to a year in jail with up to two years probation, and a $2,500 fine.

Hicks has turned his police-issued service handgun in to the Des Plaines Police Department and also has relinquished his badge and identification.

There had been two prior occasions when police were called to the Hicks' residence for domestic issues, but no charges were filed, officials said.