Chicago Police Officer Dana Hillard Avoids Discipline in Station Arrest Case

COPA drops sustained findings after former superintendent challenged proposed suspension

CHICAGO — Chicago police officer Dana Hillard avoided discipline over his conduct during a chaotic October 2023 arrest at the Wentworth District police station on the South Side after the Civilian Office of Police Accountability amended its findings and replaced a proposed suspension with de-escalation training.

The decision came after then-Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling rejected COPA’s initial conclusion that Hillard failed to de-escalate an encounter and engaged in an unjustified verbal confrontation with a man who had been arrested at the station. Hillard, the son of former Chicago police superintendent Terry Hillard, had faced a recommended suspension of up to 29 days.

The incident began on Oct. 30, 2023, when a father and son came to the Wentworth District to file a crash report, according to COPA’s account. The pair became upset after being told they had missed their turn and would need to wait longer. A sergeant and Hillard responded to the disturbance, and the sergeant began struggling with one of the men while Hillard escorted the other outside.

COPA said the second man later returned to the station area, struck Hillard on the shoulder and was arrested after a struggle. Both men were charged with criminal trespass to state land. The oversight agency did not sustain allegations that Hillard made an improper arrest or unjustifiably grabbed a man by the neck.

Body-camera footage cited in original finding

In its initial decision, COPA concluded that Hillard had nevertheless violated department rules by escalating the confrontation. The agency said body-camera video showed another officer physically stepping in to prevent Hillard from moving closer to the two men during a heated exchange.

Hillard was reported to have used profanity while speaking with the arrested man, including telling him that he should have called his “motherf------ brother” rather than coming to police for help. COPA said Hillard admitted the allegations involving the profane remarks and his failure to de-escalate.

Snelling, however, disputed the agency’s conclusion in a January letter to COPA Chief Administrator LaKenya White. He characterized Hillard’s behavior as a reasonable response to an increasingly volatile situation involving two aggressive and noncompliant people. Snelling wrote that profanity alone did not make the verbal confrontation unjustified under the circumstances.

On July 15, COPA amended the findings, clearing Hillard of the sustained allegations and recommending training instead. Steffany Hreno, COPA’s deputy chief administrator, said the original recommendations were appropriate but were changed “in the interests of settlement.” COPA is Chicago’s independent police oversight agency and publishes its case findings through its official website.

Separate PPP fraud case still threatens Hillard’s job

The resolution of the station-house case does not affect a separate disciplinary matter that could lead to Hillard’s dismissal from the Chicago Police Department. The city inspector general has recommended that Hillard be fired over allegations that he obtained more than $18,000 in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program funds and submitted false applications for other pandemic-relief loans.

A July 2025 report issued under then-Inspector General Deborah Witzburg also alleged that Hillard made false statements about the loan applications in an effort to obstruct the investigation. The inspector general’s office recommended that he be added to the city’s do-not-hire list. The department had preliminarily agreed with those recommendations and asked the Law Department to prepare formal dismissal charges, according to the report.

Those charges had not been publicly filed more than a year later. Hillard remains stripped of his policing powers and continues to earn a $119,154 salary while assigned to the department’s alternate response section, which handles nonemergency calls and includes officers with disciplinary issues.

The allegations are part of a broader municipal accountability issue: reports from the Chicago Office of Inspector General have identified at least 36 Chicago police officers found to have defrauded the PPP program. Hillard did not respond to a request for comment, and the separate dismissal case remains unresolved.