(CHICAGO) The second Rickey Williams saw Chicago Police Cmdr. Glenn Evans glaring at him from his gray Crown Victoria, he sprinted from the South Side bus stop he was standing at with three others, including a friend named “Tank.”
“Nervous” because he sold marijuana, Williams testified Tuesday that he bolted into a dark abandoned house and hid in a doorless pantry in the kitchen, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.
There, he anxiously smoked a Newport cigarette and saw a cat scurry by before he saw the bright flashlights and heard an officer saying, “We got him.”
Then, Williams said, on that late afternoon of Jan. 30, 2013, Evans grabbed him by the neck and arm and slammed his face to the ground.
With Evans’ knee pressed to Williams’ side, Evans allegedly continued to turn Williams around, straddle him and shoved a gun down his mouth and held a Taser to his groin.
“He asked me where the guns were,” said Williams, 25, who was dressed in a navy blue sweater, white dress shirt, gray tie and gray slacks.
“I was gargling and tried to get the words out, but it [the gun] was so far down my throat,” Williams said.
“It hurted.”
Williams said he spit out blood on the porch as he was being led away by officers at the house, at 7105 S. Eberhart.
Williams said he didn’t seek medical attention, but as he went over pictures of his open mouth with Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Lauren Freeman, he noted the affected areas looked “red.”
He said Evans’ weapon went down to his Adam’s apple and touched his tonsils and cheeks.
Evans, 53, is on trial for official misconduct and aggravated battery.
“Hiding behind a badge and his commander’s uniform, he broke the law,” prosecutor Frank Lamas said in his opening arguments.
Evans mistook Williams’ cell phone for a gun and Williams ended up being charged with reckless conduct — a charge that was later dropped, Lamas said.
Williams’ DNA was found on Evans’ gun and the weapon Evans claimed he saw Williams running away with was never recovered, the prosecutor said.
Defense attorney Laura Morask maintained Evans’ innocence, saying the Independent Police Review Authority’s investigation of her client was “grossly negligent.”
Morask further questioned Williams’ credibility by pointing out that he has continually changed his descriptions of the police officers he encountered that day “like I switch purses and shoes.”
Williams admitted to Freeman that he couldn’t identify Evans in a photo array.
During cross examination, Morask pressed Williams, highlighting various inconsistent statements he previously made to authorities.
Williams said he initially told IPRA officials that Evans held the gun with his left hand and the yellow Taser in his right hand. He only changed his story earlier this year when Freeman reminded him that Evans’ holster was on his right side
“I got my sides mixed up,” Williams said.
He also told Morask he was handcuffed when Evans placed the gun in his mouth, although he told Freeman differently minutes before.
Judge Diane Gordon Cannon noted the contradicting testimony, prompting Williams to say he’d stick with saying he was cuffed after the run-in with Evans.
Evans, who sat back in his chair in Cannon’s courtroom, took notes and smirked during portions of Williams’ testimony.
Williams said he also told IRPA officials a “Hispanic” officer named Todd Mueller punched him twice in the face. “They were light taps,” Williams said, explaining why he had no visible injuries.
He also said he had his face pushed into the floor again and said an officer threatened to plant drugs on him if he didn’t give up where he hid weapons.
“I don’t have a history with guns,” Williams said.
During the seven hours of testimony Tuesday, Mueller said he never hit Williams nor heard Williams complain about being abused when he was at the Grand Crossing Police District.
Sgt. Brian Schnier also testified about how he responded to Evans’ radio call and arrived at the “filthy, utterly disgusting,” abandoned home people used to defecate in. Schnier said after a roughly half hour search, no weapon turned up.
Evidence technicians who swabbed Williams’ mouth and Evans’ gun also testified on Tuesday.
Evans’ trial will resume on Wednesday.
