Former longtime cop pleads guilty to domestic battery in McHenry County

A former Algonquin man who worked as an Arlington Heights police officer pleaded guilty Wednesday to domestic battery and was sentenced to two years of probation.

Michael Cowsert, 52, now of Inverness, pleaded guilty to one count of domestic battery with physical contact, a Class A misdemeanor, according to sentencing orders in McHenry County court.

In exchange for his guilty plea, charges of aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony, unlawful restraint and three additional counts of domestic battery were dismissed, records show. Had he been convicted of the more serious Class 2 felony, he could have been sentenced to three to seven years in prison. However, that charge also is probational. Cowsert also was ordered to have no contact with the victim named in the complaint, not to consume any illegal drugs, to submit to substance use screens and pay $1,994 in fines and fees, court records show.

Cowsert was accused of grabbing, pushing and holding down a relative Aug. 14, 2022, causing red marks and abrasions and fracturing the relative’s hand, according to the indictment.

Cowsert resigned from the Arlington Heights Police Department on Sept. 27, 2022. He had joined the police department as an officer in 1996, Arlington Heights Deputy Police Chief Greg Czernecki said.

Cowsert also is the owner of an accident scene investigation and reconstruction company, according to court records. His attorney declined to comment on the case.