Scuffle with Harper police officer leads to jail sentence

A Wheeling man pleaded guilty to aggravated battery of a police officer Tuesday in Rolling Meadows.

In exchange for the plea, Jay Dixon, of the 500 block of N. Milwaukee Ave., was sentenced to 180 days in Cook County Jail and two years probation for the incident, which occurred at Harper College in Palatine last October.

Unable to post the $75,000 bail, Dixon - whose background includes a 2007 conviction for theft - has been in custody since his arrest. He received credit for the 180 days he has already served and will likely be released soon, prosecutors said.

The altercation stemmed from an incident in which a crowd had gathered around a woman who was dancing provocatively, prosecutors said. When campus officers tried to disperse the crowd, Dixon, 22, scuffled with one of the officers, pushing him down in the process and causing him to suffer a fractured skull, said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Michael Crowe.

No one else suffered any injuries, Crowe said.

The officer, who had been off since the incident, returned to duty Monday, said Harper College spokesman Phil Burdick.