Jury reaches verdict in trial of former Chicago police official accused of lying about torture

Verdict reached in Chicago police torture trial

CHICAGO — Federal court officials say a jury has reached a verdict in the trial of a former Chicago police commander accused of lying about the torture of suspects.

A U.S. District Court spokesman says the jury was assembling and the verdict would be read Monday afternoon.

Police Lt. Jon Burge pleaded not guilty to charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. He’s accused of lying in a civil lawsuit when he denied committing or witnessing torture.

Dozens of black men claimed they were tortured into making confessions from the 1970s through the early 1990s.

Jurors on Monday asked two questions of the judge. The first was about a defendant’s right to plead the Fifth Amendment. The second dealt with Burge’s answers in the civil suit.