Former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge walked slowly to the witness stand Thursday, adjusted the chair and stood with his hands clasped.
Dressed in a black suit, white shirt and blue tie with his white hair slicked back, he was quiet as the jury in his perjury case filed passed him.
Soon he was answering questions in a tired voice about his police and military career, listing off commendations and promotions.
When details of the arrest of a man in the killing of two police officers came up, Burge, who had been composed, asked for a moment to pause.
His face turned red and he began to cry.
Defense attorney Marc Martin asked if the topic was an emotional one for Burge.
“Very much so,” Burge responded.
Burge was called to the stand Thursday morning to testify in his own defense. Martin walked Burge through four cases in which men accused Burge of torture or witnessing torture.
Burge answered with a clear “no sir” to each accusation.
The defense has painted Burge from the beginning as a dedicated and tireless law enforcement officer. And that’s the strategy his attorneys pursued today as Burge spoke about working non-stop for days while overseeing the detectives working on the killings of Officers Bill Fahey and Richard O’Brien in 1982.
Burge testified that he personally participated in the arrest of Andrew Wilson, who was later convicted of the killings. Burge said he told officers transporting Wilson to Area 2 police headquarters for questioning to handle him “with kid gloves.”
“I wanted to preclude the possibility of anyone doing anything to jeopardize the case,” Burge testified.
Judge Joan Lefkow asked attorneys to make sure they did not ask Burge in front of the jury about his poor health as a cancer patient. Martin was only allowed to ask if Burge’s short- and long-term memory were well. Burge answered that his long-term memory was intact, but his short-term memory has been effected by going under anesthesia multiple times in recent months.
Burge’s testimony continues this afternoon.