Alleged Burge torture victim wants to sue city, despite earlier settlement

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Illinois Department of Corrections booking mugshot of Darrell Cannon, September 3, 2004

Updated: March 19, 2012 10:07AM

One of former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge’s alleged torture victims has settled a lawsuit against Cook County for $24,000 and hopes for a bigger payout from Chicago — even though his claims against the city have been dismissed, his attorney said Friday.

Darrell Cannon was convicted of a 1983 slaying and sentenced to life in prison. He claimed he was coerced into a confession after Burge’s detectives shocked his genitals with an electric cattle prod and stuck a shotgun in his mouth. In 2001, prosecutors responded to the allegations by allowing Cannon to plead guilty to lesser charges. He was released from prison in 2007.

Cannon sued the county and city in 2005. Cannon settled his claims against the county for $24,000 in December. But U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve dismissed Cannon’s case against Chicago last year because he previously entered a $3,000 legal settlement with the city in 1988 — and had released the city from future claims.

Now Cannon is asking the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to allow his 2005 lawsuit against the city to proceed.

His attorney G. Flint Taylor said developments since Cannon’s 1988 settlement justify his latest claims against the city. In 2006, a special Cook County prosecutor found officers tortured suspects under Burge. And last year, Burge was sentenced to more than four years in prison for lying about his knowledge of torture.

“Guys are settling [Burge] cases for millions of dollars. It’s only because of the fraud and cover-ups by the city and the defendants that [Cannon] settled for $3,000,” Taylor said.

But the city says allowing Cannon’s lawsuit to move forward would produce a flurry of lawsuits by people trying to retry old cases.

Cannon holds a part-time job and gives lectures on police torture. He worked for Ceasefire, an anti-violence group, until he was laid off because of budget cuts, Taylor said.

Contributing: Lisa Donovan