Jon Burge
Jon Burge is a former Chicago police lieutenant who was arrested on October 21, 2008, and charged with perjury and obstruction of justice.1 2 The charges stem from statements he made during a civil rights suit in 2003 addressing whether police under his direction tortured and physically abused suspects.1
One of 14 police brutality cases definitively linked to Burge and currently under investigation by the Illinois Attorney General is that of Cortez Brown, who on November 25, 2008, petitioned for the overturn of his murder conviction.3
Fast Facts
- Born: about 19484
- Burge faces 20 years prison time for each obstruction charge, 5 years for perjury and a $250,000 fine on each count4
- Employed: Chicago Police Department from 1970-19934
- Lieutenant of Area Two violent crimes unit from 1981-1986, and later Commander of the Bomb and Arson Unit4
- Suspended in 1991 and fired in 19934
A Case for Perjury
Allegations about Burge's use of torture have been put forward since he first started at the Chicago Police Department in 1972.5 In 2006, special prosecutors reported discovering 75 separate credible allegations of police abuse as an ongoing practice. The statute of limitations had expired.1
The new charges against Burge have developed from a civil rights case (Hobley v. Burge, et al.) filed in 2003 on behalf of Madison Hobley, a convicted arsonist who spent 13 years on death row before being exonerated in 2003. The suit stated that during interrogation in 1987, officers put a plastic bag over Hobley's head until he lost consciousness.6
During questioning, Burge denied that torture was used on Hobley; special prosecutors' reports say Burge perjured himself.1
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Related Pages on Mahalo
Police Brutality | Rodney King | Dwayne Dyches | Wiley Willis | Chicago | Patrick Fitzgerald | Cortez Brown
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