Since the first reports of Chicago police torture
surfaced a quarter
century ago the
list has swelled to
nearly 200 cases
involving dozens of
public employees—and still no one has
been prosecuted.
Now, with the
results of a four-year,
multimillion
dollar investigation
due any day, here’s
a guide by staff reporter John Conroy to the key
figures in the
scandal.
Some of them
may look familiar.

Richard Brzeczek

AP/Wide World Photos

RICHARD BRZECZEK, police
superintendent when Andrew
Wilson was tortured, freely
answered the special prosecutor’s
questions. The rest of the officers
listed here are African-Americans who in depositions
have said they suspected torture
but were not part of the circle
that was inflicting it.

Former superintendent Richard
Brzeczek
Former sergeant Doris Byrd
Former detective Melvin Duncan
Former detective William Lacey
Former detective Bill Parker
Former detective Walter Young

An archive of John Conroy’s reporting on the police torture scandal is available at chicagoreader.com/policetorture.