A Chicago police officer has been hit with a suspension over his alleged connections to the far-right hate group the Proud Boys, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Robert Bakker, who has been with the department for three years, has not yet served the five-day suspension because the case is reportedly being reexamined by the city’s inspector general, Joseph Ferguson. Bakker has been the subject of four internal probes within the CPD over the last year, including an ongoing investigation that alleges he committed sexual misconduct and assault before he started at the department. No details of the allegations have been reported, and Bakker has not been charged with any criminal activity.
His Proud Boy connections were unveiled in a Vice report last year, which showed the officer taking part in discussions in a “F*ck Antifa” Telegram channel. He told the outlet he was not a member of the group and was trying to spark conversations between opposing sides of the political spectrum. Andre Vazquez, a Chicago alderman, told the Sun-Times the conversations should have resulted in Bakker’s immediate dismissal. “This officer’s still out there and there really hasn’t been any kind of accountability. It’s a huge concern.”