Chicago Police Torture Survivor Visits NEIU

For many, police torture appears as an unrealistic act of a democratic country's police forces. Yet, the Chicago Police Department (CPD) has had a long history of torturing suspects to get confessions, including some given the death penalty. Darrell Cannon is one of the many who had been tortured and forced to admit, and sign a confession on, involvement in a murder and later sentenced to life.

Discussions about CPD systematic torture and brutality toward many suspects, especially African- Americans and Cannon's story were held at NEIU on Oct 28. Joey Mogul, an attorney from The People's Office representing Cannon, opened the first discussion for the day. She is an attorney who works with civil rights cases involving police misconduct, defends people engaged in street demonstrations and capital defense cases. Mogul is also an adjunct professor at DePaul University College of Law, teaching at the Civil Rights Clinic.

"If we ever want to see true justice in the legal system, we have to be organized in the streets," said Mogul. She said that she is an attorney in the city, but also an activist. She said that CPD torture cases involved over 100 African-American men between 1972 and 1991. She added, "We are not exaggerating when we say torture!" Mogul explained that Jon Burge, the commander of the area two unit of the South Side of Chicago over two decades ago, electrically shocked individuals. Burge is an ex-veteran from Vietnam where, Mogul said, he has helped to develop the "Tucker phone," an electric shock producing device. Throughout interrogations, Burge and his subordinate officers would punch, kick and hit the individuals with objects. Mogul said that throughout this, people were denied the basics: water, food and bathroom. All of this was a systematic way to get confessions.

"It is clear that these tortures were racially motivated," said Mogul adding that 12 African –American men were sent to death row in Illinois. The police officers would use racial epithets such as "nig***" and "nig*** box" for the "Tucker phone" box. "Officers would tell the tortured that if they report this, no one would believe them," said Mogul.

"There was no question that Burge and his colleagues engaged in systematic tortures, [but] neither of them were investigated," said Mogul. She told the story of Andrew Wilson who was arrested for killing two white Chicago police officers in 1982. "After that, Burge and others were out for blood," briefed Mogul. In the February of 1982 they found Wilson and after using the electric box and suffocating him with a plastic bag, they brought him to the Cook County Jail where, before being admitted, he was interviewed. The doctor has concluded that he had been beaten and electrically shocked and had informed the Superintendent, State's Attorney at the time and mayor Richard Daley on this. The doctor was asking that they initiate an investigation, but Daley did not.

"If Daley had acted in 1982, Darryl Cannon would have never been tortured and convicted," said Mogul. She continued that this was a patterned practice of torture and the entire chain of police officers and officials knew about it, and did nothing. Mogul stated, "I believe to this day that this was the racism in these cases." Just this past June, Burge was convicted not for the tortures, but of lying about them. Despite this, Mogul said that this was a profound day and we finally see a culmination. After laying down all these facts for the audience, she introduced Cannon. Cannon was tortured to confess and wrongly convicted and went to prison for 23 years.

"It was Daryl Cannon who led the charge for his own freedom," said Mogul.

Cannon speaks out and protests on the behalf of all individuals who were tortured and are in prison. He started by thanking God for giving him the strength to survive.

"The agony of everything that happened is still fresh as it was on Nov. 2, 1983," said Cannon. He recalled the words of detective Peter Dignan using racist epithets for him and telling him that they had a scientific way of interrogating those like him. He told the story of how he was taken to an isolated area and there the police officers had put a gun in his mouth, playing Russian roulette with him. "The third time my mind told me that they blew my head," said Cannon expressing the psychological breakdown he had gone through. Then he told how the officers pulled his pants down and put electric cattle prods to his testicles. He stumbled a couple of times while recollecting this horrifying and sick- brain led act.

"It was a pain that I can't even describe. By the end of the day I was willing to sign everything," said Cannon.

He explained how even in jail he continued to work on proving his innocence and the police brutality, but back then it was not easy to prove such thing. He said, "I have two spirits in me. One is my mother and the other my grandmother. They call me to fight." There was no evidence against him but the cruelly forced confession. In 2005, a judge dropped all charges and Cannon said that it was because this judge had no allegiance with the police department.

"After all that time I lost my mother, my father and my son," said Cannon who couldn't hold his tears. "I will continue to hate them; I don't hate the police department, I hate those police officers," Cannon emotionally added. He said that he was placed in prison for 23 years, but he did not waste his time and he earned an Associate Degree in Paralegal. He said that knowledge and information is important to all of us, and that's why he speaks out now.

"I believe that God doesn't make mistakes," said Cannon, who added that he is all right and in front of us stands a man who has been tested.

Cannon emphasized that, "Information is knowledge [and] knowledge is wisdom." He repeated that what he's doing now is about the people who have been tortured and are still in prison.

At the end, regarding his college visits, Cannon stated that he is doing it, "To enlighten the students about things they don't know concerning the police brutality. I need to make sure that everybody understands."