Former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge and a former homicide detective bragged about beating and other forms of torture they allegedly used against murder suspects at a South Side police station, the detective's sister has told lawyers for a former Death Row inmate.
"They began to boast about power and what really happens in a police station," Ellen Pryweller, sister of former Detective Robert Dwyer, said in a sworn videotaped statement given to attorneys representing Madison Hobley. "When they get them in a police station, they give them hell," she added. "...They beat the [expletive] out of them. They throw them against walls. They burn them against radiators. They smother them. They poke them with objects. They did something to one guy's testicles."
Accused Cop's Sister Testifies About Alleged Torture (NBC 5 Chicago, transcript of original report and video footage.)
It will be interesting to see what happens with this. Pryweller's statement was sworn for another case, but has been denied by her brother already. They're already dragging her reputation through the mud, talking about her divorce, contested child custody, having seen a counselor to get through such a rough time.
Technically speaking, it's essentially hearsay; the policeman's sister wasn't present for the torture, so there's a limit as to how useful this will be. Burge is off in Florida, the lawyers for the other policemen are saying, "This never happened" ... You just wonder what, if anything, can come of this. Still, for all that it's worth very little, it's the first independent corroboration of any sort -- coming from someone who wasn't one of the victims -- that torture seems to have happened. She's recounted some details that may wind up matching up to details of injuries suffered by others, although since nobody admitted the torture at the time, the people weren't treated for the injuries and they wouldn't have been cataloged.
In one of the cosmic ironies of this mess, the city as a codefendant with the officers, and as a condition of the police union contracts, is required to defend the officers that they fired as a result of the various allegations of torture. Additionally, according to Carol Marin's televised report of April 1, all of the former police officers are stating that they will assert their Fifth Amendment rights against self incrimination, rather than testify in any case. (I thought the Fifth Amendment didn't apply in civil cases; however, since it is a state civil case, they may not be able to be subpoenaed to bring them back in any event.)
Posted by iain at April 02, 2004 12:05 AM
