Torture abroad? Look no further than your own backyard.
Hank Qui nl an, t he cent ral charact er i n Orson Wel l es’ mast erpi ece Touch of Evi l , i s a bl oat ed and corr upt pol i ce capt ai n, a raci st sheri f f prone t o pl ant i ng i ncri mi nat i ng evi dence and ext ract i ng conf essi ons by f orce. In a sharp exchange wi t h t he i deal i st i c narcot i cs agent Mi guel Vargas ( por t rayed by t he i ni mi t abl e Charl t on Hest on) , Sherri f Qui nl an expresses di sdai n f or t he “fi ne pri nt” of cri mi nal procedure, poi nt i ng out t hat hi s ext ral egal met hods unf ai l i ngl y wi n convi ct i ons and send ki l l ers t o t he gal l ows. Unswayed, Vargas responds t hat t o sacri f i ce j ust i ce on t he al t ar of expedi ency i s t o i nvi t e despot i sm; “a pol i ceman’s j ob,” he remi nds Qui nl an, “i s onl y easy i n a pol i ce st at e.”
Li ke Qui nl an, Chi cago pol i ce of f i cer Jon Burge got resul t s. Af t er ser vi ng wi t h di st i nct i on i n Vi et nam, Burge j oi ned t he Chi cago pol i ce f orce, where he was respect ed and admi red by hi s peers, and, over t he course of t wo decades, recei ved 13 l et t ers of commendat i on f rom t he ci t y and a speci al ci t at i on f rom t he Depar t ment of Just i ce. Burge was promot ed cont i nuousl y, and i n 1993, he headed Chi cago’s det ect i ve di vi si on, where he out ranked “99 percent of t he pol i cemen i n hi s ci t y.” In par t i cul ar, he was l auded f or hi s remarkabl e i nt errogat i on ski l l s; he of t en obt ai ned conf essi ons f rom suspect s i n di f f i cul t homi ci de cases, where physi cal evi dence was scarce or ci rcumst ant i al . He was hel d up by t he ci t y as a model prof essi onal .
But Burge’s di l i gent and consci ent i ous f acade conceal ed a cyni cal , sadi st i c, and syst emat i c t or t urer. Under hi s di rect i on, t he Area Two preci nct became as not ori ous on t he Sout h Si de – a pl ace where pol i ce br ut al i t y was of f i ci al pol i cy and due process was absent . Af ri can- Ameri cans i nt errogat ed at Area Two were l ed t o a cramped room on t he second f l oor of t he preci nct house, handcuf f ed t o a radi at or, and urged t o conf ess. Those who ref used mi ght be suf f ocat ed wi t h a pl ast i c bag, burned wi t h a cat t l e prod, or i nvi t ed t o pl ay a game of Russi an roul et t e.
Al l egat i ons of t or t ure sur f aced as earl y as 1972, but were di smi ssed by prosecut ors, who depended on Burge f or hi gh- prof i l e convi ct i ons. Ot her pol i ce capt ai ns openl y admi red hi m, and somet i mes sent hi m t hei r own recal ci t rant suspect s. But duri ng t he i nt errogat i on of Andrew Wi l son, Burge became over zeal ous and l ef t unmi st akabl e physi cal evi dence of t or t ure, rangi ng f rom cont usi ons and f ract ures t o burn marks on l ower ext remi t i es. Wi l son’s convi ct i on was over t urned by t he Supreme Cour t , whi ch ci t ed t he “excessi ve f orce” used t o gai n a conf essi on. Andrew Wi l son recovered $1 mi l l i on f rom t he ci t y i n damages. Af t er an i mpassi oned publ i c out cr y, t he CPD prof essed i t was s hocked at t he rogue commander’s unsavor y t echni ques and qui ckl y f i red hi m.
The wheel s of j ust i ce gri nd sl owl y. Si nce 1993, when Burge was f i red f rom hi s post as preci nct capt ai n, hi s gr uesome l egacy of syst emat i c and i l l egal t or t ure of cri mi nal suspect s has been an open secret . In an cour t opi ni on l ast year, a f ederal appeal s j udge put t he mat t er succi nct l y: “It i s now common knowl edge t hat i n t he earl y t o mi d- 1980s Chi cago Pol i ce Commander Jon Burge and many of f i cers worki ng under hi m regul arl y engaged i n t he physi cal abuse and t or t ure of pri soners t o ext ract conf essi ons.” An i nt ernal i nvest i gat i on conduct ed by t he Chi cago Pol i ce Depar t ment conceded t hat “a pat t ern of syst emat i c t or t ure and abuse di d occur under Burge’s command” over a peri od of “more t han t en years.”
Moreover, i nf l uent i al nongovernment al organi zat i ons rangi ng f rom Human Ri ght s Wat ch t o Amnest y Int ernat i onal have f i l ed met i cul ous repor t s out l i ni ng how Burge and hi s accompl i ces at t he Area Two st at i on t errori zed 135 i ndi vi dual s ( al l poor, mal e, and Af ri can- Ameri can) i nt o si gni ng spuri ous conf essi ons by i nf l i ct i ng physi cal abuse and psychol ogi cal t rauma. Former Governor George Ryan ci t ed t he gri m hi st or y of Area Two when grant i ng pardons t o f our deat h row i nmat es whose convi ct i ons were secured by conf essi ons el i ci t ed by Burge. Dozens of f ormer i nmat es have ci vi l sui t s pendi ng agai nst Burge and t he ci t y, and a speci al prosecut or has been appoi nt ed t o i nvest i gat e t he possi bi l i t y of cri mi nal charges agai nst al l of f i cers who were compl i ci t i n t or t ure. Proof, i t woul d seem, t hat t he syst em works.
The real i t y i s murki er. The Dal ey admi ni st rat i on has opt ed f or obst r uct i on and obf uscat i on rat her t han t r ut h and reconci l i at i on. It has spent mi l l i ons of t axpayer dol l ars on l egal f ees t o def end Burge and hi s accompl i ces despi t e t he st at ement over t en years ago by l awyers f or t he CPD t hat “al l i gat or cl i ps were pl aced on suspect s’ t est i cl es, suf f ocat i ng pl ast i c bags were wrapped around t hei r heads, and radi at ors were used t o burn t hei r bodi es.
Al t hough Burge was di scredi t ed and ul t i mat el y t ermi nat ed, he cont i nues t o draw a generous pol i ce pensi on whi l e l i vi ng i n a st at e of semi – ret i rement i n Fl ori da. The speci al prosecut or i s t hree years i nt o hi s i nvest i gat i on and has yet t o f i l e any charges or i ssue any f i ndi ngs.
Why such rel uct ance t o probe t he past ? The St at e’s At t orney f or Cook Count y duri ng t he 1980s was one Ri chard M. Dal ey, who st eadf ast l y ref used t o i nvest i gat e Area Two or any of t he al l egat i ons agai nst Burge. Di ck Devi ne, t he current St at e’s At t orney,
has represent ed Burge on several occasi ons i n ci vi l awsui t s. It i s preci sel y because of t he corr upt nepot i sm of Chi cago pol i t i cs t hat communi t y act i vi st s have recent l y brought t he quest i on of Burge bef ore t he Int erAmeri can Commi ssi on on Human Ri ght s, hopi ng t hat bei ng pl aced i n t he i nt ernat i onal spot l i ght wi l l spur t he ci t y t o act i on. Speaki ng bef ore t he i nt ernat i onal panel of j udges, at t orney St an Wi l l i s cal l ed t he rei gn of Burge at Area Two “probabl y t he most document ed case of abuse i n t he hi st or y of t he republ i c.” Ours is an age of extral egal interrogations and bureaucrats who insist that, in the present war on terror, the US ought to be exempt from such bothersome encumbrances as the Geneva Convention and the UN Convention Against Torture. The President recentl y threatened to veto a Senate resol ution reaffirming America’s opposition to “cruel , inhuman, or degrading” treatment of prisoners. It is difficul t to avoid the concl usion that torture has indeed become a preferred instrument of US pol icy. The normal ization of these repel l ent practices adds renewed urgency to the investigation of Jon Burge. If Chicago fail s to act decisivel y, if it continues to equivocate and excuse Burge and thereby al l ows innocent men to waste away in prison whil e their torturers remain at l iberty, then the countr y wil l have taken a bol d and perhaps irrevocabl e step towards the pol ice state of Wel l es’ imagination.
