A former Chicago police officer must pay $4,515 and serve 18 months on probation after he admitted to dodging parking tickets and moving violations by giving false statements or providing fraudulent documents, blaming his girlfriend for stealing his car.
Jeffrey Kriv, who was a CPD officer from Aug. 5, 1996, until January of 2023, pleaded guilty last week to a felony count of theft in exchange for the probation term.
In 2023, the Tribune detailed allegations against Kriv, writing that since 2016 he reportedly contested 44 tickets, which were later dismissed, by saying his girlfriend had stolen his car.
An attorney for Kriv did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Yeah, I broke up with my girlfriend earlier that morning, had a knock-down, drag-out fight, verbally, of course. She took my car without my knowledge,” he told a judge when fighting a speeding ticket in August 2021, according to the story.
He did not say he was a Chicago cop.
Kriv also allegedly provided police reports that were later determined to be falsified, according to court records.
The city’s Office of Inspector General opened an investigation against Kriv after receiving a report in 2022 about a potentially fraudulent ticket. A subsequent investigation found that between 2009 and 2022, he successfully disputed numerous tickets issued to a personal vehicle with false or forged information, according Kriv’s Wednesday plea agreement.
In fact, the agreement said, he used the same excuse over and over: that his girlfriend took his car after a fight.
Kriv was originally charged in an indictment with multiple counts of perjury and forgery.
The Tribune’s investigation also found that Kriv racked up a long history of complaints during his time as a police officer. He was investigated at least 26 times over allegations of dishonesty, which included accusations of falsifying records, writing unwarranted tickets, performing improper searches, making false arrests.
He made more DUI arrests in Chicago than any other officer in 2021, but in one case was sued by a woman who was acquitted at trial of drunk driving. She accused Kriv of making false statements.
“He would lie under oath for a piece of bubble gum,” the woman told the Tribune.