Officer acquitted of putting gun in man’s mouth

Watroba and her partner, Lauren Freeman, repeatedly emphasized in their closing arguments that DNA evidence “buries” Evans, 53, whose encounter with Rickey Williams occurred on January 30, 2013. He also said that Evans held a taser to his groin as he threatened to kill him, if he didn’t tell him where he was hiding the gun. She opened and closed her remarks by cautioning that the case shouldn’t be grouped with other recent cases of alleged police misconduct.

“My ruling does not pertain to (police) misconduct”, the judge said.

Had Evans been wearing a body camera, the case would have been easier to resolve. Garry McCarthy and others had praised the officer as an accomplished commander whose aggressive ways helped drive down the crime rate in some Chicago neighborhoods.

The climate of Chicago is not lost on Cannon, who acknowledged that “this is not a good time to try a case like this”, adding that it is never a good time for police misconduct. The criminal case is over, but Williams is suing Evans in federal court.

The latest on the trial of a Chicago police commander accused of shoving his gun down a suspect’s throat (all times local). The officer, Jason Van Dyke, was charged with murder in the shooting of Laquan McDonald.

A WBEZ investigation of Evans’ record showed the city paid out $325,000 on seven lawsuits in which Evans was accused of police brutality.

Williams “defied belief” when he said that Evans attacked him and another officer punched him and smashed his face into the kitchen floor in a decrepit, abandoned house at 7105 S. Eberhart, Morask said.

Williams’ lawyers issued a statement saying they will proceed with a lawsuit and are confident they’ll meet the burden of proof needed to show that Evans violated Williams’ rights.

Cmdr Evans told investigators he confronted Mr Williams because he saw him holding a gun.

Williams’ DNA was found on the barrel of Evans’ gun.

Williams said he spat out blood afterward, but he didn’t seek medical treatment.

State forensic experts found Williams’ DNA on Evans’ gun, according to court testimony. A swab of Evans’ gun found the accuser’s DNA on the weapon. She also said Williams’ saliva wasn’t tested for gun residue and the inside of the barrel wasn’t tested for his DNA, suggesting the DNA could have gotten on the gun during a tussle with officers.

But Cannon said that the DNA evidence only established that Evans had contact with Williams, something that was not in dispute.

The Independent Police Review Authority came under fire Thursday during the closing arguments of a police brutality case in which a high-ranking Chicago officer is accused of shoving his gun down an alleged victim’s throat in 2013.

Protesters are calling for more resignations, including those of Emanuel and Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez. Ricky Williams’ story, she said, changed in the leadup to the trial, and even while he was on the witness stand, according to the Sun-Times.