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发帖数: 29846 | 1 Published on CNS News http://www.cnsnews.com
Chicago officer acquitted of putting gun in suspect's mouth
CHICAGO (AP) — A judge on Monday acquitted a Chicago police commander
accused of shoving his gun down a suspect's throat, outlining what she said
were flaws in the state's case and stressing that it shouldn't be conflated
with other recent cases of alleged police misconduct that have come to the
fore in Chicago and elsewhere.
Cook County Judge Diane Cannon found Cmdr. Glenn Evans not guilty of
aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and official misconduct stemming
from the 2013 arrest of Rickey Williams, whom Evans believed he had seen
holding a gun.
Cannon said she didn't find Williams' story believable, accusing him of
changing it repeatedly and of offering to change it if it would help
investigators. She also dismissed evidence thought to be among the most
damning — Williams' DNA on Evans' gun — suggesting it was collected so
sloppily that that it was of "fleeting relevance. But she opened and closed
her remarks by cautioning that the case shouldn't be grouped with other
recent cases of alleged police misconduct.
"My ruling does not pertain to (police) misconduct," the judge said. "This
is just one case."
Evans' case received widespread attention because of his aggressive tactics
— condemned by some, praised by others — as the city has struggled to
lower its violent crime rate. Former Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy and
residents of crime weary neighborhoods said Evans helped clean up a number
of areas under his command, while others say he symbolized the department's
failure to control its officers. Both Evans and Williams are black.
The bench trial unfolded as protesters rallied against alleged brutality by
Chicago police after last month's release of a squad-car video that showed a
white officer shooting a black teenager 16 times in October 2014. That
officer was charged with first-degree murder just hours before police
finally released the video after being ordered to do so by a judge.
Evans showed little reaction upon hearing the verdict. He could have faced
up to five years in prison.
Williams' lawyers issued a statement saying they will proceed with a lawsuit
and are confident they'll meet the burden of proof needed to show that
Evans violated Williams' rights.
Prosecutors alleged that Evans tackled Williams and stuck his gun in
Williams' mouth while demanding to know where he had put a gun he believed
he had seen Williams holding. Williams testified that he hadn't been
carrying a gun and that Evans must have mistaken it for a cellphone he had
been holding. He said Evans shoved his gun so far down his throat that he
gagged and later spat blood.
Investigators never recovered a gun, and the charges against Williams were
later dropped.
In dismissing the usefulness of the DNA found on the gun, Cannon pointed out
that investigators swabbed the entire weapon instead of just the barrel.
She also said Williams' saliva wasn't tested for gun residue and the inside
of the barrel wasn't tested for his DNA, suggesting the DNA could have
gotten on the gun during a tussle with officers.
Evans' attorneys questioned Williams' credibility and the reliability of the
DNA evidence. After the verdict, though, they were most critical of the
Independent Police Review Authority, the city's main police oversight agency
that investigated the incident and has been harshly criticized for not
recommending that enough officers be punished.
"They were inept, they were at times corrupt (and) they didn't want to see
the things that made Glenn Evans ... innocent,' said Laura Morask.
Evans, who is one of the highest ranking members of the department to ever
face criminal charges, was a polarizing figure in the community. Repeatedly
praised by McCarthy for his aggressive tactics, Evans was also the subject
of at least 45 excessive-force complaints over a 20-year period, according
to a study done for the People's Law Office in Chicago. Critics pointed to
that total as evidence of the department's willingness to condone or at
least ignore the brutal behavior of its officers.
The release last month of the squad car video of the police shooting of 17-
year-old Laquan McDonald has led to a series of protests about the police
department's treatment of suspects, particularly blacks, and led to McCarthy
's ouster. Protesters are calling for more resignations, including those of
Emanuel and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez.
After the verdict Alvarez defended her decision to charge Evans.
"This case underscores the reality that it is extremely difficult to
convince judges or juries in Cook County and around the country to convict
police officers of misconduct in the line of duty, despite the fact that
this victim made an immediate outcry and we had DNA evidence to support our
case," she said in a statement.
The verdict marks the second time this year that the office has suffered a
high-profile defeat after bringing charges against a Chicago police officer.
Dante Servin was charged with involuntary manslaughter and other charges in
the shooting death of an unarmed black woman in 2012, but in April a judge
suggested that prosecutors filed the wrong charges against the officer and
acquitted him.
___
The story has been corrected to reflect that the study showing that Evans
was the subject of at least 45 excessive-force complaints over a 20-year
period was conducted for the People's Law Office of Chicago, not by the
University of Chicago.
Source URL: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/chicago-officer-acquitted-putting-gun-suspects-mouth |
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