CHICAGO (AP) – The latest on the trial of a Chicago police commander accused of shoving his gun down a suspect’s throat (all times local).
10:20 a.m.
A judge has acquitted a Chicago police commander accused of shoving his gun down a suspect’s throat and pressing a stun gun to the man’s groin.
Judge Diane Cannon on Monday found Cmdr. Glenn Evans not guilty of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and official misconduct stemming from the 2013 incident involving Rickey Williams. Evans could have faced up to five years in prison, if convicted.
Evans says he confronted Williams because he saw him holding a gun.
Williams testified that Evans put his service pistol so far down his throat that he gagged and later spat blood. He says Evans must have mistaken a cellphone he had been holding for a weapon. Investigators never found a gun.
The ruling comes amid heightened scrutiny of Chicago police tactics and oversight.
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8:35 a.m.
A judge is expected to announce a verdict in the case of a Chicago police commander accused of thrusting a gun down a suspect’s throat.
Cmdr. Glenn Evans also is accused of pressing a stun gun to the suspect’s groin.
Evans is an African-American officer who’s been with the Chicago police 29 years. He is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and official misconduct. Cook County Judge Diane Cannon says she’ll announce a verdict at 10 a.m. on Monday.
Evans’ three-day bench trial ended last week. The 53-year-old didn’t take the stand in his own defense. His attorney questioned the victim’s credibility and DNA evidence in the case, and said there’s no evidence Evans had a stun gun.
Prosecutors say DNA shows the victim told the truth.