Officer Bob

CHICAGO - If you’re like me, the first thing that comes to mind when you think of street crime is a guy in a wheelchair. These rollin’ roustabouts ain’t foolin me - and they didn’t fool the seven Chicago PD officers named in a recent federal lawsuit.

A quadriplegic man sued the Chicago Police Department in federal court Thursday, claiming officers yanked him out of the passenger seat of a car in 2006, dragged him to the ground and beat him up even though he kept yelling “I’m paralyzed.”

“They were kicking me and punching me,” Daniel Casares said. “I was scared for my life.”

Casares, 28, can’t use his legs and his right hand — and his left arm and hand are “significantly paralyzed,” said his attorney, Blake Horwitz.

On Oct. 9, 2006, Casares was a passenger in a car driven by his brother. They were parked in an alley in the 10300 block of Avenue M in the East Side neighborhood.

Casares said he was waiting for a man to bring him money for a car deal when officers approached. The cops suspected the men were smoking marijuana and told them to get out of the car, Horwitz said.

The brother was handcuffed and taken away. Drug charges were later dropped, Horwitz said.

So this guy’s handicapped, but he can still use his arms to dial a phone to call a lawyer?  Come on.