Nine months after being acquitted on charges of sticking the barrel of his service weapon in the throat of a convicted felon, a former Chicago Police commander is now accepting awards and thanking his supporters.
But being put on trial for police brutality has left a mark on 30 year department veteran Glenn Evans—a mark he wants erased.
“I cannot and will not allow them, or anybody else, to falsely and maliciously malign my character by portraying me as one who engages in willful or wanton misconduct,” Evans said at a new conference Thursday.
In June, Evans and his attorneys filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Chicago, the Independent Police Review Authority and WBEZ radio, who they say leaked information in the case.
“I strongly believe every citizen is entitled to be treated honestly, fairly and within the rule of law, and that includes me,” Evans said.
Evans hired high-profile attorney Victor Henderson—who typically represents victims of police violence.
“He is somebody who knows hot to walk down the line and walk down the middle and that’s all any of us want in a democracy,” Henderson said Thursday. “Just be fair, just be straight, just be honest.”
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At the news conference, Evans was flanked by community residents who say they want him back as commander.
“Cmdr. Evans had a plan to get to the bottom of the drugs and the guns that were just overtaking this part of the city,” said South Shore resident Mary Steenson.
Robert Van Puyenbroek, a Park Manor Resident, said he felt that Evans had his communities back, too.
“He made the community feel safe when he was in charge,” Puyenbroek said.
The Rev. Matthew O’Deonnel of St. Columbanus Church it’s a “blessing” to come from a community that often speaks out against police violence and stand in support of an officer like Evans.
Evans said the job isn’t just police work to him.
“These are people, these are families and I am here to protect them,” he said.
