A veteran Chicago police sergeant was found guilty Thursday of felony aggravated battery and official misconduct charges for slapping a handcuffed teen in an unprovoked attack caught on surveillance video.

Sgt. Edward Howard Jr. closed his eyes and sat motionless at the defense table after Judge Clayton Crane announced the verdict. As a colleague came forward to console him, the sergeant slowly rubbed his face and slumped back in his chair.

Crane, who held a two-day bench trial, said it was a "difficult case" but that the video left "no other explanation" for what happened to the victim, Gregory Jeffries.

Howard hit Jeffries so hard with the last of the three slaps that the teen had "to shuffle his feet to maintain his balance," the judge said.

An hour earlier while on the witness stand, Howard had admitted striking Jeffries, then 19, but contended the teen was shouting profanity and was about to spit on him while being arrested. The incident took place in October 2010 outside the Gyros King restaurant at 79th Street and South Vincennes Avenue.

"He called up phlegm from his throat," testified Howard, at one point demonstrating the noise he said Jeffries made with a loud, throaty gargle. "I had to redirect his face away from my face because I could see he was going to spit on me."

The burly sergeant, 48, also referred several times to his "duty" as a police officer to not back down in the face of an unruly situation.

"When challenged, you must stand there and meet the challenge … defend yourself and the citizens," said Howard, a 26-year police veteran.

The trial centered on the surveillance video that captured Howard delivering what appeared to be three quick slaps to Jeffries' head as several other officers observed. Jeffries had been placed under arrest for trespassing after the officers responded to a call of a person with a gun. When Howard arrived, Jeffries was standing near a squad car with his hands cuffed behind his back.

Jeffries testified earlier in the trial that he was agitated because he had been kicked out of the restaurant and called a racial slur by an employee. But he denied trying to spit on the sergeant and testified he said nothing to Howard to provoke the beating.

According to testimony Thursday, Howard called in to police dispatchers after delivering the blows and asked for a transport vehicle to take Jeffries to the Gresham District station.

"Can I get a wagon over here? These guys don't understand not to fool with the police," Howard allegedly said over the police radio.

Jeffries sustained cuts, bruising and swelling to his upper and lower lips and redness and swelling to the face, according to prosecutors. That same morning Jeffries and his mother reported the incident to the Independent Police Review Authority, which sent the case to the Cook County state's attorney's office after viewing the video.

Howard's attorney, Robert Kuzas, said in his closing argument that the sergeant had every right to defend himself against what amounted to a "vile and disgusting" assault.

But Assistant State's Attorney Lauren Freeman argued Howard was simply out to punish Jeffries for not giving the police the respect he thought they deserved.

"You can't demand respect and punish those who don't give it to you by beating them," Freeman said. "This was an embarrassment to the badge."

Howard was allowed to remain free on bond pending sentencing. He faces up to 5 years in prison but could also receive probation. He was stripped of his police powers after his arrest last year.

jmeisner@tribune.com