Federal prosecutors continue to investigate decades-old allegations that Chicago police routinely tortured murder suspects, focusing on a half-dozen detectives following the recent indictment of former Cmdr. Jon Burge, the alleged ringleader, sources said.
Subpoenas served on the city show that prosecutors are looking at detectives long linked to Burge and the South Side precincts where he worked mostly during the 1980s. Among them: former Sgt. John Byrne, considered Burge's right-hand man, and former detective Peter Dignan.
It is not surprising that the investigation has widened beyond Burge. Last October, when prosecutors announced Burge's indictment on perjury and obstruction of justice charges, U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald said the charges "should serve as a warning" to those officers who worked for him and took part in alleged brutality.
"If their lifeline is to hang on a perceived code of silence, they may be hanging on air," said Fitzgerald, cautioning other officers could be hit with similar charges.
Now a clearer picture is emerging of where the investigation is heading. Prosecutors are looking for medical records or testimony by a doctor to corroborate claims of brutality, the sources said, and want to avoid pitting the testimony of a former inmate against that of an officer.
A case in point is Andrew Wilson, who was convicted of killing two police officers after giving a confession that Burge and his men allegedly coerced. Wilson contended he was beaten and shocked and forced to press his chest and abdomen to a hot radiator. He died in prison in 2007.
Last month prosecutors asked a judge to allow them to use Wilson's testimony from previous hearings and civil proceedings at Burge's upcoming trial.
The Chicago Police Board found Burge guilty in 1983 of violating department rules, a determination that ultimately led to his firing a decade later. Wilson's facial injuries and burn marks had been photographed by jail personnel and doctors following his 1982 arrest. The supervising physician at the Cook County Jail, John Raba, even wrote the police superintendent asking for an investigation.
"Dr. Raba and other witnesses who participated in the examination and/or treatment of Wilson have been located and are available to testify at trial," said last month's filing.
Federal authorities have also interviewed Gregory Banks, who says Byrne and Dignan and other detectives placed a plastic bag over his head to force him to confess in 1983 to a murder.
The Illinois Appellate Court ruled that his confession had been obtained through brutality and awarded him a new trial after Banks had spent 7 years in prison.
Banks later won $92,000 from the city after filing a federal civil rights lawsuit.
Lawyer Flint Taylor, who represents Banks as well as other alleged torture victims, said prosecutors have interviewed a number of his clients.
"We've had contact with the U.S. attorney and presented several of our clients for interviews," he said. "It's my sense that they're doing a very aggressive and a thorough investigation with regard to some of Burge's midnight crew."
"We're hopeful there will be indictments brought against them and others," he added.
Dignan could not be reached Tuesday for comment. Byrne, who is a private detective in the south suburbs, said he was not surprised that federal prosecutors would focus on Burge's midnight shift officers.
"They're going to do what they feel is necessary," said Byrne, who indicated he has not been contacted by authorities. "They're going to be looking at everyone who was working then."
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http://www.chicagotribune.com
Showing posts with label Wall of silence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wall of silence. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Friday, February 29, 2008
Bad Cops are Everywhere
All citizens should be able to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have a really hard time distinguishing between the good guys and who and the bad guys are. Some police will openly admit to wrong doing in books that they have had published. Mark Fuhrman talked about racism being very real in his department, and even bragged about torturing, beating and framing suspects. Cops across the entire United States have murdered people, pull armed robberies, raped young girls, sold drugs, stolen drug money, accepted bribes and falsified evidence against criminal defendants, all while in a uniform. They say that there is only a handful of cops that go bad, but still people continue to be weary of all law enforcement.
The reported number of bad cops is on the rise. In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, State Trooper Richard S. Keener was charged with sexual assault and rape. Two NYPD sergeants and a detective were arrested Friday on drug-related corruption charges, federal and local authorities said. Two New York City police detectives, now retired, have been charged with participating in or attempting to commit eleven murders. At least five of those crimes, and a host of others, allegedly occurred during their tenure as police officers. A few years ago a police officer from NYC was arrested for sexually brutalizing a Haitian with a toilet plunger while the man was being held in custody. A two-time Mexico City policeman of the year, was arrested on suspicion of extorting money from illegal car-watchers. A veteran Los Angeles Police Department officer was arrested for assaulting a handcuffed 16-year-old in a police holding room. Three Boston police officers were arrested on federal charges of criminal activities such as dealing in stolen goods, stealing people’s identities, and stealing store gift cards. This list goes on and on.
Everyday across the county something can be found on TV or online, about an officer going bad. Yet we as citizens are told by law enforcement that there is only a few cops that have gone bad. But history states otherwise, there is continual corruption, racism, and abuse of power in every rank and has continued unabated since the 1840’s.
There are some states like Oklahoma, who are among the most arrest-happy departments in the country. Instead of sending a drunk home they insist on locking them down. They should really try to overlook certain minor violations and try to seek to keep the streets calm without resorting to locking everyone down. They need to be told and fully understand that the cops are not engaged in a war.
Real reform is possible only when that value system changes and cops come to realize that they must police themselves. A bad cop will only abstain from misconduct when he/she looks at the cop next to them and believes that their partner will not hesitate to turn he/she in for misconduct. They need to offer some type of incentive to get these officers to break the ‘wall of silence’ and report a bad cop. They must understand that this ‘wall of silence’ is what is allowing bad cops to flourish. Good cops should not be punished because they try to expose a bad cop. This will show to the public that they can trust the police to police themselves.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have a really hard time distinguishing between the good guys and who and the bad guys are. Some police will openly admit to wrong doing in books that they have had published. Mark Fuhrman talked about racism being very real in his department, and even bragged about torturing, beating and framing suspects. Cops across the entire United States have murdered people, pull armed robberies, raped young girls, sold drugs, stolen drug money, accepted bribes and falsified evidence against criminal defendants, all while in a uniform. They say that there is only a handful of cops that go bad, but still people continue to be weary of all law enforcement.
The reported number of bad cops is on the rise. In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, State Trooper Richard S. Keener was charged with sexual assault and rape. Two NYPD sergeants and a detective were arrested Friday on drug-related corruption charges, federal and local authorities said. Two New York City police detectives, now retired, have been charged with participating in or attempting to commit eleven murders. At least five of those crimes, and a host of others, allegedly occurred during their tenure as police officers. A few years ago a police officer from NYC was arrested for sexually brutalizing a Haitian with a toilet plunger while the man was being held in custody. A two-time Mexico City policeman of the year, was arrested on suspicion of extorting money from illegal car-watchers. A veteran Los Angeles Police Department officer was arrested for assaulting a handcuffed 16-year-old in a police holding room. Three Boston police officers were arrested on federal charges of criminal activities such as dealing in stolen goods, stealing people’s identities, and stealing store gift cards. This list goes on and on.
Everyday across the county something can be found on TV or online, about an officer going bad. Yet we as citizens are told by law enforcement that there is only a few cops that have gone bad. But history states otherwise, there is continual corruption, racism, and abuse of power in every rank and has continued unabated since the 1840’s.
There are some states like Oklahoma, who are among the most arrest-happy departments in the country. Instead of sending a drunk home they insist on locking them down. They should really try to overlook certain minor violations and try to seek to keep the streets calm without resorting to locking everyone down. They need to be told and fully understand that the cops are not engaged in a war.
Real reform is possible only when that value system changes and cops come to realize that they must police themselves. A bad cop will only abstain from misconduct when he/she looks at the cop next to them and believes that their partner will not hesitate to turn he/she in for misconduct. They need to offer some type of incentive to get these officers to break the ‘wall of silence’ and report a bad cop. They must understand that this ‘wall of silence’ is what is allowing bad cops to flourish. Good cops should not be punished because they try to expose a bad cop. This will show to the public that they can trust the police to police themselves.
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