Cop accused in fatal hit-and-run wanted to 'go back'
May 26, 2009
BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN

The Chicago Police officer charged with striking and killing a 13-year-old South Side boy in a hit-and-run crash Friday told arresting officers that he just wanted to “go back.”

"I want to go back. I just want to go back," Richard Bolling told the officer who inquired about the front-end damage to his Dodge Charger when he was spotted driving the wrong way on a one-way street blocks away from where Cook County prosecutors said Bolling hit Trenton Booker, knocking him off his bike.

Bolling, 39, this afternoon made his first court appearance since Sunday, when his bail was set at $2 million. He remains in custody, and his family is trying to raise money for his bond, his attorney Dan Herbert said.

Trenton’s family arrived at the courthouse at 7:45 a.m. today, hours before the noon hearing to ensure they would be present to see Bolling.

The family missed the 11 a.m. bond hearing Sunday because they were told it would be held an hour later.

"This is really about my son Trenton right here," Trenton’s father, Terrence said, holding up a picture of his only son.

Although this afternoon’s hearing was brief, Terrence Booker said it was worth it "because I saw him [Bolling], and he saw us."

"I was shaking because I’m looking at the man who killed my son," Terrence Booker said.

Booker said he wasn’t surprised by reports that Bolling allegedly was given a Breathalyzer test fours hours after he was arrested. “It sounds fishy,” he said.

"I expect nothing but that,” Booker said of any possible preferential treatment to Bolling. “They [police] are what they are."

The tests on Bolling revealed a blood-alcohol level of .079, just shy of the .08 legal limit, according to the state’s attorney’s office.

Officers who arrested Bolling in the 1900 block of West 82nd Street noticed a “moderate odor” of alcohol on Bolling’s breath and indicated that he “did not seem to be impaired” after he performed the standard field sobriety test, the police report stated.

"In the walk-and-turn test, subject only used his arms for balance; the one-leg stand test subject only used his arms to balance, and the finger-to-nose test, the subject performed the test satisfactorily. Due to the results of the the standard field sobriety test, the subject did not seem to be impaired," the report said.

Booker said it was "ridiculous" that Bolling’s attorneys may seek a lower bond at the June 1 court date, the day he is planning to bury Trenton.

Trenton’s grandmother, Deborah Upton, said her grandson’s death devastated the family, but she also expressed sympathy toward Bolling’s relatives.

"My heart goes out to his family because his family is suffering," she said.

Just before Upton and Booker finished talking to reporters, they repeatedly said, "Don’t drink and drive," consoling one another as they walked out the courthouse.