For the past year, Marsh has been trying to depose Rodriguez about this stop and the 1863 team. It was finally scheduled last Friday, but 90 minutes into it, according to this court filing, Rodriguez left the room during a break and his attorney said the deposition was being terminated because Rodriguez's sergeant needed to take him to Chicago police headquarters so that he could be relieved of his police powers. >> A Chicago police officer was answering questions under oath in a federal civil rights lawsuit. The case centers on allegations that traffic stops were being used to conduct vehicle searches. About 90 minutes into the deposition, something unusual happened. The officer was suddenly told to stop answering questions. He was removed from the deposition and taken to police headquarters. Shortly afterward, the department stripped him of his police powers, meaning he could no longer perform law enforcement duties. Even the federal judge overseeing the case appeared surprised by the timing. Because interruptions like this during sworn testimony are extremely rare. The officer involved is Richard Rodriguez Jr., a member of a Chicago Police Department tactical team. And he isn't the only officer from that unit under scrutiny. According to reporting, several members of the same team have already lost police powers during the investigation. Now the federal court wants answers. Specifically, why the officer was pulled out of sworn testimony at that exact moment. Thin blue lies, baby. The lawsuits focus on a pattern of traffic stops that allegedly turned into vehicle searches. Civil rights attorneys representing drivers claim some stops were used to conduct searches without proper legal justification. The officer at the center of the deposition, Richard Rodriguez Jr., has accumulated a significant complaint history. Reports indicate 28 misconduct complaints, eight civil lawsuits, and multiple disciplinary suspensions. Those numbers alone do not prove misconduct, but in civil rights litigation, attorneys often examine whether repeated complaints involve similar types of allegations. In this case, several lawsuits focus on traffic stops and searches. That's part of why investigators began looking more closely at the tactical unit involved. >> The attorneys for Chicago drivers tell the I-Team what happened on Friday was an unprecedented and unusual development. For more than a year, the I-Team has been investigating a Chicago police team accused of unlawfully searching drivers. Some have taken the city to court, and in a deposition for one of those cases last week, an officer was abruptly removed and escorted to police headquarters, where supervisors took his service weapon and badge. >> No one had ever seen anything like this before. >> For nearly 20 years, attorney Jordan Marsh worked for the city of Chicago, representing Chicago police officers in court, but today he's on the other side, representing drivers suing Chicago police. After years of litigation, some of those officers have now been pulled off the street. >> They're not going to be able to pull anyone over, they're not going to be able to harass anyone, they're not going to be able to profile anyone. So, that's positive. >> As the I-Team previously reported, Marsh represents 12 people who have sued the city over traffic stops turned searches by one group of Chicago officers, the 1863 tactical team. Members of the team have been accused of misconduct in more than 100 complaints filed with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, or COPA. >> Come on out or we'll rip you out. >> The 1863 team is made up of a sergeant and seven officers, but since our reporting started last year, the team's sergeant has been reassigned, and now five officers have been relieved of police powers, meaning they must surrender their service weapon and badge. >> I'll be respectful, sir. >> This is Officer Richard Rodriguez Jr., the most recent 1863 member to be stripped. >> Calm down. >> I'm calm. >> Body camera video of a 2023 traffic stop Rodriguez was involved in is now evidence in a lawsuit against the city. >> Many of these lawsuits revolve around a policing tactic most drivers don't realize exists. It's called a pretext stop. Under a US Supreme Court decision called Wren versus United States, police officers can legally stop a vehicle for any traffic violation. Even a very small one. A broken tail light, a failure to signal, rolling through a stop sign. Once the violation exists, the stop itself is considered legal. But what happens next is where things get complicated. Because after a stop, officers sometimes attempt to turn that traffic violation into something bigger. A drug search, a gun investigation, or a consent search of the vehicle. And that's where many civil rights lawsuits begin. >> Rodriguez had pulled a Chicago couple over for failing to register their vehicle. That charge was later dismissed, but the couple accused Rodriguez and another 1863 officer of unlawfully searching their vehicle and for abusive and threatening behavior. >> This is a legit traffic stop. I'm not harassing anybody that's in Chicago. I don't care about you or this right here. >> you though. >> I don't. I don't even think about you guys. Trust me. After this stop, I'm going to forget about you guys. >> Rodriguez was suspended 3 days for using profanity and prematurely deactivating his body-worn camera, according to Cobra reports. He and his attorney did not respond to the I-Teams request for comment. In court filings, Rodriguez denied the lawsuit's allegations. For the past year, Marsh has been trying to depose Rodriguez about this stop and the 1863 team. It was finally scheduled last Friday, but 90 minutes into it, according to this court filing, Rodriguez left the room during a break and his attorney said the deposition was being terminated because Rodriguez's sergeant needed to to him to Chicago police headquarters so that he could be relieved of his police powers. In a motion to the court, Marsh calls the move lawless interference with a civil justice system. >> There's another reason the deposition incident matters. Federal courts take the discovery process seriously. If a judge believes a party interfered with testimony, several things can happen. The court may order another deposition, allow broader questioning, or require the release of internal communications explaining what happened. That's why the judge ordered the city of Chicago to respond. Because when sworn testimony is interrupted like that, the court wants to know why. >> The police department does not get to dictate um when a deposit a court-ordered deposition ends. >> Now, Chicago police have confirmed Rodriguez was stripped of his police powers pending an internal investigation, but would not comment further due to pending litigation. A federal judge has ordered the city to respond to Marsh's accusations of lawless interference and explain why Rodriguez was stripped of his police powers by this Friday. And we have just learned another 1863 CPD officer has submitted his paperwork to resign. So, a lot of developments about this team in just the last few days and weeks. >> Yeah, a lot of stunning developments, but also a lot more questions remain. >> So many, and we're going to get them. >> Right now, the court has not ruled on the underlying allegations, but the questions surrounding the tactical team investigation are growing. Multiple officers from the same unit have lost police powers. A federal judge is now demanding answers about the interruption of sworn testimony. And the lawsuits over traffic stops and searches are still moving through the courts. What happens next will depend on what the evidence shows. Because in cases like this, the real story often isn't just what happened during one traffic stop. It's what investigators discover about the system behind it. Thin blue lies, baby. >> Hey, if you're still here, that tells me two things. One, you actually care about accountability. And two, YouTube hasn't scared you off yet. So, here's the deal. 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