Tampa, FL – Tampa activists protested at a Tampa area funeral home, Sept. 21, the location of the remains of torturer Jon Burge. The protesters demanded that the torture victims of Jon Burge be freed. They also called for the conviction of killer-cop Jason Van Dyke.

Jon Burge oversaw the torture of over 100 African-Americans from 1972 to 1991. By tying the victims to chairs, using electric shocks, putting bags over their heads, mock executions and attacks to their genitals, Jon Burge and his Chicago Police Department torture ring were able to obtain forced confessions.

Although he was charged with lying about the torture, he was never charged for the actual acts of torture he committed. Burge spent the last years of his life in a Tampa area halfway home, still receiving his $54,000 a year pension. His victims, however, oftentimes received the death penalty or life in prison based on the false confessions gathered from torture. Some 20 of his victims are still in prison today.

“We are here to protest legacy of Jon Burge,” said Gage LaCharite, an organizer of the protest. “We are also standing with the ongoing struggle in Chicago to convict Jason Van Dyke. Van Dyke is the most notoriously racist Chicago cop since Jon Burge. There is a broader pattern of violence against African Americans and other nationalities by CPD and police across the country. This is why we need Civilian Police Accountability Councils now!”

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