A former Cook County judge is accusing prosecutors of misconduct in the case of a Chicago police officer who beat a drunk-driving charge after a fatal crash last fall. We report from our West Side bureau.

Thirty-four-year-old John Ardelean was off duty when his SUV struck a car carrying three friends from west suburban Cicero on Thanksgiving. The collision killed two of them, 22-year-old Miguel Flores and 21-year-old Erick Lagunas.

Officer Ardelean was charged with felony drunk driving after a videotape showed him drinking in a tavern just before the crash. But a Cook County judge last week dismissed the charge, saying there was no indication the officer was drunk.

FIGUEROA: These are two Mexican kids and it didn’t mean anything, like somebody swatting two flies on the wall.

Retired Cook County Judge Raymond Figueroa on Wednesday condemned State’s Attorney Richard Devine’s office for bringing the charge before the judge instead of a grand jury.

A written response from Devine’s office said there was conflicting evidence and defended the judge as impartial.

The victims’ families, meanwhile, are planning a civil suit.