CHICAGO
The authorities arrested a former Chicago police commander at his Florida home on Tuesday and charged him in a police brutality scandal that contributed to the emptying of Illinois’ death row and that continues to resonate as one of the most racially charged chapters in the city’s history.
Lt. Jon Burge, a former Chicago police commander, was arrested on charges that he lied when he denied abusing inmates two decades ago.
The activities of the former commander, Jon Burge, 60, have been the subject of speculation for decades as scores of criminal suspects, many poor and black, have come forward saying they were routinely brutalized by Mr. Burge and the mostly white officers under his command on the South Side in the 1980s.
Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said at a news conference that Mr. Burge “lied and impeded court proceedings” in 2003 when he provided false written answers to questions in a civil lawsuit that claimed he and other officers had abused inmates.
According to the indictment, Mr. Burge “well knew” he had participated in and was aware of “such events involving the abuse or torture of people in custody,” including wrapping inmates’ heads in plastic to make them feel as if they were suffocating.
The statute of limitations on the suspected torture has expired, but Mr. Fitzgerald said Mr. Burge would still be held accountable.
“There is no place for torture and abuse in a police station,” the prosecutor said. “No person is above the law, and nobody — even a suspected murderer — is beneath its protection.”
Calls for Mr. Burge’s prosecution, which were sounded for years, grew louder after a 2006 report by special state prosecutors supported what dozens of inmates had said about being brutalized in jail. The report took more than four years and included more than 700 interviews.
This year, the city approved a $20 million settlement with four former death row inmates who said they had been abused under Mr. Burge.
After posting $250,000 bond, Mr. Burge left the federal courthouse in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday. He said only that he planned to plead not guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of perjury. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Chicago.
If he is found guilty, Mr. Burge faces up to 20 years in prison for each obstruction of justice charge, five years for perjury and a $250,000 fine on each count.
The investigation is continuing, and may result in more indictments, officials in Mr. Fitzgerald’s office said.
“It’s a start, after 25 years,” said a defense lawyer, Flint Taylor, who has called for investigations of Mr. Burge and his officers for decades. “After years of struggle, maybe a modicum of justice will be attained here.”
The indictment could mean a great deal of work for prosecutors here, with defense lawyers expected to line up to file motions to overturn convictions during Mr. Burge’s tenure.
“I believe there are 40 to 50 cases where there was evidence of torture and the primary evidence against the defendant was a confession,” said Andrea D. Lyon, a law professor at DePaul University and former head of the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Mayor Richard M. Daley was the Cook County state’s attorney during the time of many of the accusations against Mr. Burge.
“Obviously, the Burge case recalls a terrible chapter in our city’s history,” Mr. Daley said. “Some of the police behavior at that time was detestable, which is why steps have been put into place to ensure that the kinds of acts associated with Jon Burge never happen again.”
Monique Bond, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Police Department, which fired Mr. Burge in 1993, said the department supported the findings in the indictment.
The authorities arrested a former Chicago police commander at his Florida home on Tuesday and charged him in a police brutality scandal that contributed to the emptying of Illinois’ death row and that continues to resonate as one of the most racially charged chapters in the city’s history.
Lt. Jon Burge, a former Chicago police commander, was arrested on charges that he lied when he denied abusing inmates two decades ago.
The activities of the former commander, Jon Burge, 60, have been the subject of speculation for decades as scores of criminal suspects, many poor and black, have come forward saying they were routinely brutalized by Mr. Burge and the mostly white officers under his command on the South Side in the 1980s.
Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said at a news conference that Mr. Burge “lied and impeded court proceedings” in 2003 when he provided false written answers to questions in a civil lawsuit that claimed he and other officers had abused inmates.
According to the indictment, Mr. Burge “well knew” he had participated in and was aware of “such events involving the abuse or torture of people in custody,” including wrapping inmates’ heads in plastic to make them feel as if they were suffocating.
The statute of limitations on the suspected torture has expired, but Mr. Fitzgerald said Mr. Burge would still be held accountable.
“There is no place for torture and abuse in a police station,” the prosecutor said. “No person is above the law, and nobody — even a suspected murderer — is beneath its protection.”
Calls for Mr. Burge’s prosecution, which were sounded for years, grew louder after a 2006 report by special state prosecutors supported what dozens of inmates had said about being brutalized in jail. The report took more than four years and included more than 700 interviews.
This year, the city approved a $20 million settlement with four former death row inmates who said they had been abused under Mr. Burge.
After posting $250,000 bond, Mr. Burge left the federal courthouse in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday. He said only that he planned to plead not guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of perjury. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Chicago.
If he is found guilty, Mr. Burge faces up to 20 years in prison for each obstruction of justice charge, five years for perjury and a $250,000 fine on each count.
The investigation is continuing, and may result in more indictments, officials in Mr. Fitzgerald’s office said.
“It’s a start, after 25 years,” said a defense lawyer, Flint Taylor, who has called for investigations of Mr. Burge and his officers for decades. “After years of struggle, maybe a modicum of justice will be attained here.”
The indictment could mean a great deal of work for prosecutors here, with defense lawyers expected to line up to file motions to overturn convictions during Mr. Burge’s tenure.
“I believe there are 40 to 50 cases where there was evidence of torture and the primary evidence against the defendant was a confession,” said Andrea D. Lyon, a law professor at DePaul University and former head of the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Mayor Richard M. Daley was the Cook County state’s attorney during the time of many of the accusations against Mr. Burge.
“Obviously, the Burge case recalls a terrible chapter in our city’s history,” Mr. Daley said. “Some of the police behavior at that time was detestable, which is why steps have been put into place to ensure that the kinds of acts associated with Jon Burge never happen again.”
Monique Bond, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Police Department, which fired Mr. Burge in 1993, said the department supported the findings in the indictment.
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