By JIM AVILA and SERENA
MARSHALL
When a Chicago police officer
was caught brutally beating a female bartender in 2007, the city paid her
$850,000.
Another officer shot a man in
the back while he was on the ground and was later found to be unarmed. That
payout cost the city $4 million.
Now, police Cmdr. Glenn Evans
faces criminal charges for allegedly sticking a gun down the throat of a man he
mistakenly accused of hiding a gun.
"They took the gun, put it
down my throat,” alleged victim Ricky Williams said in a videotape provided by
his attorney. "The things that they did they should get punished
for."
Evans, a highly decorated
officer, has been the subject of more than 40 misconduct complaints.
None of the previous claims
have been proven, but Evans is now on desk duty awaiting trial. So far he has
cost taxpayers $300,000 in settlements.
And these expensive burdens on
taxpayers happen all over the nation.
6 Police Misconduct Settlements
Worth Millions
Alleged Police Misconduct
Caught on Tape
Ex-Reporter Sues After Alleged
Police Brutality Deleted Off Camera
In Philadelphia, more than $40
million in police misconduct settlements have been paid out in the last five
years. New York City paid out $428 million in the same period, according to
data obtained by MuckRock, an organization that advocates for open, transparent
government records.
A Baltimore Sun investigation
found the city had paid $11.5 million in the last four years. In Los Angeles,
the amount totaled $54 million for claims just in 2011.
In Chicago, where the city had
to float $100 million worth of bonds to help pay for police settlements related
to abuse, the Chicago Sun Times found the city had paid out $450 million in the
last decade with much of it due to repeat alleged abusers.
And many, like the commander,
are still on the job.
Evans was stripped of his
police duties and moved to a desk job, pending the outcome of criminal charges
that include two counts of aggravated battery and seven counts of official
misconduct, which are all felonies. Prosecutors in Chicago want to present
evidence of previous cases of misconduct against Evans in the current case.
"What it signals to me and
to most defense attorneys is their main case is weak, so they're trying to
bolster it with other stuff," said Evans' attorney, Laura Morask. ABC News
requested multiple times for an interview with the police superintendent, but
was denied.
When ABC News approached
Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy to question the refusal to sit
down for an interview, he replied: "Are you kidding me?"
He then walked away and would
not comment on why he had not only kept Evans on the job after the latest
criminal allegations of misconduct, but had even promoted him to district
commander in spite of the dozens of abuse allegations leveled at him while he
was still a lieutenant.
During a September news
conference, after allegations against Evans had surfaced, McCarthy had said:
"If the allegations are true, it's reprehensible."
"But Cmdr. Evans is
entitled to due process just like every other citizen in the United States of
America. I hope that that's kept in mind," McCarthy said.
"It's almost as if they
make an effort not to connect the dots, rather than turn the information they
have into knowledge that they could use to identify that relatively small
number (of officers) but still significant in their impact," said Jamie
Kalven, with the Invisible Institute, a Chicago-based journalistic production
that works to increase awareness of controversial issues.
"You have complaint after
complaint after complaint alleging behavior in the very pattern they were
ultimately convicted of -- and no action was taken," Kalven said.
"They don't connect the dots and then intervene."
The Chicago City Council
Finance Chairman Ed Burke, who approved the settlements, said he was frustrated
too.
"I've asked repeatedly
about why there has not been discipline meted out to some of these officers we
have spent large amounts. I don't know that I've had or that the members of the
council have been satisfied with the responses to those questions,” Burke told
ABC News.
In a statement to ABC News, the
Chicago Police Department said:
"Community policing and
fostering stronger relationships with residents and the communities we all
serve is the foundation of our policing philosophy. Over the last three years,
Chicago has made it a priority to improve trust and cooperation between the
Chicago Police Department and we have become a positive national and
international model for preventing police misconduct and investigating
allegations.
"As soon as we were made
aware of the charges Commander Evans was relieved of his police powers, pending
the outcome of this matter. We take the charges very seriously. The alleged
actions that led to Glenn Evans' arrest, if true, are deeply disturbing. They
have no place in our city and are not reflective of the actions and values of
the men and women who serve in the Police Department."
