Former Chicago police commander linked to torture dead at 70

Source: Associated Press

Herbert G. Mccann, Associated Press
Updated 6:03 pm CDT, Wednesday, September 19, 2018



CHICAGO (AP) — Former Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge, who was accused of torturing suspects in his South Side police district but was never prosecuted for the alleged crimes, has died, a Florida funeral home confirmed Wednesday. He was 70.

Burge led a "midnight crew" of rogue detectives accused of torturing more than 100 suspects, mostly black men, from 1972 to 1991, in order to secure confessions. His alleged victims were shocked with cattle prods, smothered with typewriter covers and had guns shoved in their mouths.

Burge was fired in 1993 and sentenced to prison in 2011 for lying in a civil case about his actions. It was too late to charge him criminally on the torture charges.

Sarah Zipperer of Zipperer's Funeral Home in Ruskin, Florida, on Wednesday would confirm only that the business was handling his remains. She refused to give the cause or date of his death, citing the wishes of his family.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Former-Chicago-police-commander-linked-to-torture-13242316.php#photo-16173416