A former Chicago police commander has been sentenced to prison for lying about torture and abuse of suspects in his custody.
Jon Burge, 63, was given 54 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in a civil case in 2003. In that case, Burge denied any knowledge of improper coercion or abuse by police officers, but evidence showed he had suffocated suspects with plastic bags, shocked them with electrical devices, and pointed a loaded gun to their heads.
Burge rose through the ranks to become a commander before being fired in 1993 over allegations of abuse. A four-year investigation in 2002 found that the abuse was outside the statute of limitations, but a civil suit led to federal charges in this case.
Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez said Burge abused his power and betrayed the public trust by lying under oath to cover up the abuse. “The department will aggressively prosecute any officer who violates the Constitution,” Perez added.
U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald said the sentence delivers a measure of justice after decades of denials that torture occurred in police custody. “This sentence puts to rest the decades of denials,” Fitzgerald said.
Burge was convicted of two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of perjury in June. The recommended Guidelines’ sentence was not specified, but Burge’s sentence was an upward departure.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Weisman and April Perry from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois and Trial Attorney Betsy Biffl from the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.
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Key Facts
- State: Federal
- Category: Violent Crime|Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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