Steven Zamiar, a 13-year veteran who rose to deputy police chief with the small south suburban department, nodded his head slightly as U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman handed down a sentence far below what prosecutors sought.
In her ruling, Coleman said Zamiar abused the trust placed in him by the community when he beat James Snyder as drunken crowds spilled out of a popular tavern early on Thanksgiving morning 2011. Snyder suffered welts and bruises across his back and head.
"You crossed the line from being a trusted authority figure to being an officer out of control," Coleman told Zamiar as his wife and other relatives sobbed in the courtroom gallery.
But the judge said prosecutors were overreaching by seeking up to 71/2 years in prison, noting that even the victim didn't feel like a lengthy prison term was warranted.
Zamiar was "primed for a fight" when he went to Durbin's bar on Cicero Avenue to conduct surveillance on the crowd of revelers, prosecutors said in a recent court filing. As Snyder walked to his girlfriend's car, Zamiar approached in plainclothes with his baton drawn and chased Snyder through the parking lot, swinging repeatedly at his back and head.
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