Sean Popps, who was detained 12 times by Chicago police last year before being removed from the streets for viciously striking a cardiologist in a Northwestern Memorial Hospital parking garage elevator, will be back on the streets shortly.
According to court records, Popps pled guilty on Wednesday to aggravated violence in a public place for the November 2, 2025 attack and was sentenced to two years by Judge Aleksandra Gillespie. However, Illinois law reduces Popps’ sentence in half and credits him for 360 days in custody. After being first deemed incompetent to stand trial by the court’s Forensic Clinical Services, he received therapy at an inpatient institution and was declared fit last month, according to records.
In 2025, Chicago police arrested Popps a dozen times, nearly all for alleged trespassing or property damage on or around Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Streeterville site. These arrests followed seven in 2024, with the majority occurring on or around the hospital grounds. Records indicate that authorities arrested him at the prison twice in 2020, twice in 2021, once in 2022, and once in 2023.
Then, at 1:39 p.m. on November 2, 2025, a 42-year-old cardiologist entered an elevator at 236 East Huron Street, court documents show. Popps allegedly followed her into the elevator and immediately began striking her in the head. Prosecutors said he continued to strike her as she stumbled backward and attempted to hide her face with her hands.
According to a Chicago police complaint, the woman sustained many bruises, abrasions, and hematomas on her face, head, arm, and hand. According to officials, she had no prior interaction with Popps, and the attack was unprovoked.
A Northwestern security officer recognized Popps in surveillance film, noting “approximately 30 plus prior incidents at the hospital where [Popps] had to be removed,” according to a detention petition. Another Northwestern officer reported “incidents with [Popps] approximately two times per day over the last 19 months.”
Popps was on pretrial release at the time of the attack in a different case in which he was accused of trespassing on a Streeterville residential building in October and then attempted to flee a police station lockup.
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