As reported in the Chicago Tribune on Saturday, February 18, 2006, a Cook County jury returned a $6.74 million dollar verdict against the Chicago Police Department for using excessive force and coercion to wrongfully obtain murder convictions against three men that were later vacated. The men, Omar de Jesus Aquirre, 37, Savier Duarte Santos, 33 and Robert Gayol, 42, spent years in custody or prison before being freed in 2002. They alleged that Chicago Police picked them up for questioning in November of 1997 after the murder of Southwest Side furniture store owner. The plaintiffs alleged they were physically abused by the police, who also concocted fake stories to secure their convictions.
The jury awared $3 million to both Aquirre and Santos. Before his sentence was vacated, Aquirre was serving a 55 year sentence. Gayol had been sentenced to life. Santos had cooled his heels in custody for 4 years and then served only six months of a 12 year sentence, pursuant to a deal he had cut with prosecutors. The lawyers representing the three men had requested an award of $21.5 million.
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