Once accused of elder abuse, he fights back

Christopher Bonds will soon have his day in court.

Since June 2008, when he was arrested for allegedly assaulting a 94-year-old relative who suffered from dementia, Bonds has been fighting to clear his name.

Those charges were dropped. The Cook County state's attorney decided not to prosecute because the only witness was Bonds' 6-year old daughter -- and her statements supported her father.

Bonds was a captain in the Illinois Army National Guard when the charges were leveled against him.

I was struck by his circumstances.

Here was a man who took in his wife's 94-year-old aunt (who had meager resources) when other family members, including the woman's own son, wanted to put her in a nursing home.

I also note that Bonds' wife is a social worker and that Bonds had no prior convictions.

Without compelling evidence, it just didn't seem reasonable that either one of them would put their careers in jeopardy by abusing an elderly relative.

According to Bonds, the incident that led to his arrest began when the aunt, Susie Smith, became "agitated" and began "swearing and striking" him in front of his daughter.

In a federal lawsuit Bonds has filed against a detective and the City of Chicago, he admits holding the woman's wrists to calm her down.

When paramedics and two Chicago Police officers arrived, the elderly woman acknowledged "hitting" Bonds, according to the lawsuit.

Because she also complained of "chest pains," she was taken to Little Company of Mary Hospital. During a visit with her son, Smith complained that Bonds was "trying to kill her."

"Obviously, he never did any of this," said Bonds' attorney, Kurt Feuer. "We think the police didn't have probable cause to arrest him. The only evidence they had was the statement of somebody suffering from dementia."

While Bonds was in Arkansas on assignment with the National Guard, his wife called to tell him a detective was looking for him.

"I go to the police station to meet with the detective, and the cops jumped out," Bonds recalled.

"I sat there for 7� hours without a drop of water, and I was in my uniform," Bonds said. "After about 20 hours of being in custody, they finally gave me something to eat."

His bond was set at $50,000.

It didn't matter that Bonds' wife and his daughter told the detective that he never struck or choked the aunt. Or that a home health care giver said she physically examined Smith and that the woman "showed no signs of abuse." Or that the hospital did not report any signs of abuse.

Smith died in October. Bonds' case was dismissed soon after.

Meanwhile, Bonds was barred from being promoted to major in the Illinois National Guard, and his reputation suffered.

"My kids were ridiculed. Their friends saw it in the news and read it in the paper, and it was like: 'Did your dad do this? Does he beat up old ladies?' " Bonds said.

"I knew the people who knew me, knew I did not do anything of the sort, but people who don't know you don't know what to think."

After the charges were dropped, Bonds tried to have the arrest expunged, but the state's attorney objected, and the chief judge denied his request.

He filed a complaint with the Independent Police Review Authority, but no action was taken against the detective.

On Tuesday, the city's attorney advised a federal judge that the city is not willing to settle the lawsuit.

"Apparently, the city isn't settling anything. I would be happy to take Chris' case to trial," his attorney said.

"Here you have a guy taking care of his family and doing everything the right way, and this is what happens to him. It's a damn shame."

A spokeswoman for the city's Law Department said the city continues to "exercise discretion regarding settlements."

"We believe it is important for the morale of police officers that they know we will defend them as aggressively as possible."

But where does common sense -- not to mention fairness -- come in?

A jury is going to take one look at the clean-cut Bonds, review the evidence, and get ticked off that the city wasted its time.

Photo: Christopher Bonds ;