Crime & Safety
See the Video of Councilman Larry Hug Getting Slapped at the Double J and Hear the 911 Call
Councilman Hug was bloodied — but kept his feet and never stopped smoking.
The City of Joliet finally released video of Councilman Hug getting slapped in the face and bloodied at the Double J March 31 after initially refusing. The city also released the booking photo of alleged slapper Mark Koenig, a recording of Hug’s 911 call and the police reports — after thoroughly redacting them, removing all names besides Koenig’s, and blacking out everyone’s statements.
Even Hug’s name is nowhere to be found in the reports, although the victim’s occupation was listed as “councilman.”
In a letter, city attorney Martin Shanahan noted that Joliet “does not release videos or audio recordings until the conclusion of the prosecution” of a pending case, but the “victim in the case” — Hug — “agreed to allow the City to release an unredacted video of the incident and the 911 audio recording.”
Koenig, 46, was arrested on a charge of battery Friday, eight days after the alleged slap attack.
On the night in question, Hug, 52, hung out at the Double J — “Joliet's Favorite Westside Neighborhood Bar!” — for more than an hour with County Board Member Annette Parker, her husband, Brian Parker, and Koenig before tempers flared about 11:30 p.m.
Over the course of the evening, the quartet shares laughs and exchanges high fives in the smoking enclosure of the Essington Road bar. Hug at one point embraces Brian Parker and rubs his bald head.
Another smoker joined the group but left shortly before Koenig started his slapping.
Brian Parker said he did not want to discuss the incident Wednesday night. He said his wife was unavailable.
Hug declined to discuss the video.
“At this point, even though the investigation’s over, I don’t think it’s appropriate to comment,” he said.
“I’ll be a state’s witness at some point,” he said. “I’ll let the video speak for itself.”
On his 911 call, Hug told a dispatcher, “Yes, my name’s Larry Hug. I just got punched in the face by a patron of Double J’s and I want a police officer out here.”
“It was a verbal disagreement and then he punched me ... in the nose,” Hug explained.
Hug turned down the services of an ambulance, saying, “I just want him arrested.”
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