Chicago Police 'tortured Black Suspects'

A rogue Chicago police unit routinely tortured black suspects in the 1970s and 80s with electric shocks, beatings, near-suffocation, and mock Russian roulette, according to a four-year investigation. Though investigators found evidence of torture in at least half of 148 cases examined, it was too late to bring charges because of the statute of limitations.

The scandal exacerbated racial tensions in Chicago for years, and centred on Jon Burge, a former police commander, and his so-called "midnight crew". He was fired in 1993 when torture claims surfaced, but nobody has been charged with a crime, prompting condemnation from the UN committee against torture in May.

One case was Andrew Wilson, accused of killing two officers in 1982. He said police had administered electric shocks and "put a plastic bag over his head, and burned him on the arm with a cigarette", according to the investigation. Mr Wilson had earlier testified that Mr Burge, holding an electric-shock device, "ran it up between my legs, my groin area ... then he jabbed me with the thing and it slammed me ... into the grille on the window. Then I fell back down, and I think that's when I started spitting up the blood and stuff."

Mr Wilson was convicted, but his death sentence was subsequently reversed on the basis his confession had been obtained by torture; he is serving life in prison. Mr Burge lives anonymously in Florida, and did not comment on the investigation; his lawyer denies he tortured anybody.

Victims' lawyers called the report a whitewash. "You spend six or seven million dollars, plus another 10 million on the civil side, and all you come up with is that Burge tortured people, some other cops did too, but we can't prove it?" said Frank Avila, who represents Aaron Patterson, released in 2003 after 13 years on death row.

The prosecutors leading the investigation, Robert Boyle and Edward Egan, said they had evidence to bring criminal charges in at least three cases, had the statute of limitations not expired. "We only wish we could indict in these three cases," Mr Boyle said.

The investigation had threatened to reach Chicago's mayor, Richard M Daley, son of the infamous former mayor Richard J Daley. In the event he escaped criticism.

"I don't want to turn this into a racial issue, but there were no African-American attorneys involved in the investigation," Mr Avila said. "Everybody's white."

Anthony Holmes, convicted of murder in 1974 by confession he says was won by torture, was not surprised at the outcome. "You think they're going to charge Burge with something, and let him pull everyone else down?" he told the Chicago Sun-Times.

The city police superintendent, Philip Cline, said times had changed: "We've been taking very aggressive steps over the years to build upon the public trust."