A judge has acquitted a Chicago police commander accused of shoving his gun down a suspect's throat and pressing a stun gun to the man's groin.
Judge Diane Cannon on Monday found Cmdr. Glenn Evans not guilty of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and official misconduct stemming from the 2013 incident involving Rickey Williams. Evans could have faced up to five years in prison, if convicted.
Evans, African-American officer who's been with the Chicago police for 29 years, says he confronted Williams because he saw him holding a gun.
Williams testified that Evans put his service pistol so far down his throat that he gagged and later spat blood. He says Evans must have mistaken a cellphone he had been holding for a weapon. Investigators never found a gun.
The three-day bench trial ended last week, and the 53-year-old didn't take the stand in his own defense. His attorney questioned the victim's credibility and DNA evidence in the case, and said there's no evidence Evans had a stun gun. Prosecutors said DNA showed the victim told the truth.
The ruling comes amid heightened scrutiny of Chicago police tactics and oversight.