A body-worn camera recorded the officer insulting two students after police stopped and searched one of them without legal justification.
Students stopped while returning from school
A Chicago police officer received a five-day suspension after his body-worn camera recorded him shouting an obscene insult at two students following a stop that investigators later determined was unjustified.
The incident occurred at approximately 1:50 p.m. on December 10, 2024, in the 7500 block of South Merrill Avenue on Chicago’s South Side. A young man and a young woman had reportedly just gotten off a bus and were walking home from school when they were approached by Officers Oscar Furlan, Crystal Moreno and Kenneth Clay, who were patrolling the area in an unmarked police vehicle. 
According to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, one of the officers asked the young man to remove his hands from his pockets. The three officers then exited their vehicle and detained him, while Furlan and Moreno conducted a protective pat-down.
The young man explained that his hands were in his pockets because he was cold. Temperatures in Chicago that afternoon were in the mid-30s. He and the young woman repeatedly told the officers that they had just gotten off a bus and were returning from school. No weapon or contraband was found.
COPA found no legal justification for the stop
COPA concluded that the officers lacked the “reasonable, articulable suspicion” required to detain the young man. According to the agency’s findings, being in an area with a high crime rate, walking with his hands in his pockets and failing to comply with a request to remove them did not provide specific grounds to suspect that he had committed, was committing or was about to commit a crime.
Investigators also determined that the officers had no specific reason to believe that the young man was armed and dangerous. COPA therefore found that the protective pat-down was also unjustified.
All three officers were additionally found to have failed to complete the required Investigatory Stop Report documenting the detention and search.
Insult captured by the officer’s body camera
After the encounter ended and the two students began walking away, Officer Furlan shouted: “We stopped you because you are ugly as f***.”
Furlan acknowledged making the comment but told investigators that he had said it under his breath to another officer. COPA rejected that explanation, finding that the body-camera footage showed him shouting the remark in the direction of the departing students.
The agency classified the statement as verbal abuse and concluded that it served no legitimate law-enforcement purpose. COPA also found that Furlan’s conduct violated Chicago Police Department rules requiring officers to treat members of the public courteously, respectfully and professionally.
Three officers disciplined
COPA recommended that Furlan receive a suspension of between one and ten days, along with additional training. The Chicago Police Department ultimately imposed a five-day suspension and ordered him to undergo retraining on professionalism, investigatory stops, protective pat-downs and reporting requirements.
Moreno received a three-day suspension and additional training, while Clay received a formal reprimand and was also ordered to complete retraining.
The findings were accepted by Interim Superintendent Fred Waller on August 11, 2026. COPA’s Final Summary Report was published on September 10.
Source: FOX32, Chicago Crime Chaser Photo: Google Maps/Printscreen
