Commander Glenn Evans normally praised for his crime prevention in Chicago neighborhoods was arrested Wednesday for allegedly placing the barrel of his gun in a suspect's mouth.

The charges include one count of aggravated battery and one count of official misconduct according to State's Attorney office spokespeople.

Evans was responsible for overseeing patrol districts in the West Side's Harrison area. Supt. Garry McCarthy, who defended Evans on Monday, released a statement about the abuse allegation.

"The alleged actions, if true, are unacceptable to the both the residents we serve and to the men and women of this department," McCarthy wrote. "As soon as we were made aware of the charges Commander Evans was relieved of his police powers, pending the outcome of this matter. Like any private citizen, the commander is innocent until proven guilty and we need to allow this case to proceed like any other. We will cooperate fully with prosecutors."

First reported by radio station WBEZ, the charges stem from an incident involving Evans and two other officers during an arrest in January 2013. At that time, Evans was commander of the South Side's Grand Crossing patrol district, when the authorities spotted Rickey J. Williams holding a blue steel handgun.

When Evans approached Williams, 24, he ran away. When police caught up to him, they arrested Williams near an abandoned home, according to police reports. Williams was charged with reckless conduct and the case was later dropped.

As some point during the arrest, Evans allegedly stuck his service weapon into Williams' mouth. A State Police lab report found DNA from the man on Evan's gun.

In an unrelated news conference Monday, McCarthy snapped at a reporter who asked if he still supported Evans despite these allegations.

"I'm not going to answer that question. That's absurd. Do I support him? If I didn't support him, he wouldn't be there," McCarthy said.