A Chicago cop who currently has the most misconduct allegations in the entire police department was arrested Friday for domestic violence, according to police sources and court records.
More Top Picks At T El51203
Joseph Vecchio was stripped of his police powers late last year amid fallout from his time as a member of a tactical team whose traffic stops and street searches led to dozens of misconduct complaints and a bevy of civil-rights lawsuits. He’s now accused of attacking a woman he was romantically involved with in his far Northwest Side home.
Police sources said Vecchio, 31, was taken into custody early Friday afternoon and charged with domestic battery. According to court records, Vecchio allegedly punched a woman he was dating multiple times in the face and body. The alleged battery took place Tuesday, court records show, and the woman filed a petition for an order of protection Wednesday. Cook County Circuit Judge Megan Goldish granted the order the same day and issued a warrant for Vecchio’s arrest.
Court records also state he has been involved in prior instances of domestic violence and take note of his status as a police officer, “stripped for unrelated incidents.”
Vecchio didn’t immediately respond to calls and messages seeking comment. A lawyer representing him on one of the civil rights cases where he is listed as a defendant didn’t immediately return calls.
He was set to appear before Judge Michael Hogan at Cook County Domestic Violence Court Sept. 9, according to Cook County court records.
Just before Vecchio was taken into custody, The Chicago Sun-Times reported that he now faces firing. Federal court records show he is a defendant in more than a dozen federal civil rights lawsuits connected with Team 1863, a group of officers from the Near North (18th) District who racked up more than 50 complaints regarding their alleged unprofessional conduct, traffic stops, street stops and searches. According to an October 2025 memo from COPA’s Chief Administrator LaKenya White to then-Superintendent Larry Snelling, Vecchio personally had 76 complaints filed against him.
Per data from the city’s Office of Inspector General, Vecchio still has the most misconduct complaints of any single officer in the department. The officer with the second-highest number of complaints — also a Team 1863 member — was stripped of his police powers in February in the middle of a deposition for one of the lawsuits that resulted from the team’s activities.
Tribune reporter Sam Charles contributed to this report.