COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — The Chicago Police commander accused of sticking a gun in a suspect's mouth and threatening to kill the man is expected to stand trial Tuesday.
Cmdr. Glenn Evans, who formerly headed the West Side's Harrison District, was charged in August 2014 with aggravated battery and official misconduct after a suspect filed a complaint alleging Evans put a gun in his mouth and Taser to his groin.
The trial comes just two weeks after Officer Jason Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder for shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times in October 2014. City officials released dashcam footage of the shooting on Nov. 24 — setting off protests across the city, including one that blocked a large stretch of Mag Mile on Black Friday.
A week after the video was released, Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked Police Supt. Garry McCarthy to resign. Activists have attacked Emanuel, McCarthy and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez — demanding resignations amid allegations of cover-ups and police misconduct.
On Sunday, the New York Times reported that the Justice Department plans to launch "a far-ranging investigation into the patterns and practices of the Chicago Police Department, part of the continuing fallout over a video released last month showing the police shooting of Laquan McDonald."
In Evans' case, prosecutors allege the commander was on patrol in January 2013 when he thought he saw a man with a gun near a bus stop in the 500 block of East 71st Street.
The man ran into an abandoned building and hid in a closet, prosecutors said. When Evans found the man, Evans allegedly tackled him, put his gun in the man's mouth and stuck a Taser to his groin.
"As [Evans] held both weapons, he threatened to kill the victim and said, 'Mother------, tell me where the guns are,' " Assistant State's Attorney Lauren Freeman said during an initial court appearance in August 2014.
No guns were recovered, and the man, who was 22 at the time, was charged with reckless conduct for allegedly having a gun. However, the charge was later dropped, prosecutors said.
The man complained about the incident to the Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates reports of police misconduct, prosecutors said. A subsequent investigation found the man's DNA on Evans' gun.
Earlier this year, Evans' attorneys tried unsuccessfully to throw out that DNA evidence by claiming Evans did not give legal consent to test his gun since a superior officer ordered him to hand it over, the Tribune reported at the time.
Cook County Judge Diane Cannon shot down the request and said she'll consider the DNA evidence during the bench trial, which is slated to begin Tuesday.
"They didn't break into his home in the middle of the night" and take his gun, Cannon said, according to the Tribune. "This is a police commander who voluntarily handed over his gun that was allegedly used in the crime," she said. "... As a police officer he gave up certain rights."
Though media are allowed to attend the trial, Judge Cannon ruled in July that no photographs or video are permitted.
Cameras have been allowed at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, 2600 S. California Ave., on a case-by-case basis since a pilot program launched earlier this year.
Several police officers expected to testify work undercover and don't want their identities revealed, the Sun-Times reported in July. Judge Cannon agreed to ban photos and video, but said limited audio recording shall be allowed.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
