CHICAGO CITY HALL (WBBM Newsradio) -- Chicago aldermen have advanced a proposed multi-million dollar settlement in a police misconduct lawsuit, involving a former officer who also interrogated suspects at Guantanamo Bay.
Attorneys for Carl Reed say Chicago police officers abused and tortured their client for 44 hours back in 2001 before coercing him into confessing to the stabbing death of Kim Van Vo, who was one of his neighbors in an assisted living facility on the North side.
The lawsuit names former detective Richard Zuley, who's been cited in other allegations of misconduct, and also was accused of torturing terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay after the 9/11 attacks.
Jessica Felker from the Law Department says Reed was released in 2020 after 19 years behind bars - and the case dismissed three years later.
"He alleges that he is illiterate with an IQ of 65 and therefore could not have read or knowingly signed a hand-written confession, which he contends was fabricated and nonsensical," Felker told members of the City Council Finance Committee. "Reed will allege that the DNA testing proves he's innocent, as his DNA was not found on the victim, inside the apartment or on the knife."
Felker says Reed could seek in excess of $40 million in damages from a jury.
The Finance Committee approved a proposed settlement of $9.5 million.
It's now headed to the full Council, which is set to consider it on Wednesday.
Man claims 44 hours of coercion; one officer tied to Gitmo interrogations
Man claims 44 hours of coercion; one officer tied to Gitmo interrogations
