A man who spent 26 years locked up for a murder he didn’t commit — a victim, he says, of officers working under former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge — is suing the city and the police officers.
“They had a pattern of picking on people who basically couldn’t withstand coercive interrogations using physical violence, as in Arnold’s case, and psychological intimidation,” attorney Jon Loevy said in announcing the lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
Arnold Day was 18 years old in 1992 and living in the city when he was arrested for the unrelated shooting deaths of Raphael Garcia and Jerrod Erving from a year earlier. In the suit filed this week, Day said officers “choked” him and threatened to toss him out a window if he didn’t start “cooperating.”
“In fear for his life and as a result of the officer defendants’ unlawful coercion, Mr. Day agreed to cooperate,” according to the lawsuit. “Only then was Mr. Day unhandcuffed from the wall.”
Day then “falsely confessed” to murdering Garcia and Erving, according to the lawsuit.
Day was found guilty at trial of murder and attempted robbery in the Erving case, but acquitted in a separate trial of the Garcia case. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison for the Erving case.
In December 2018, a Cook County judge overturned Day’s murder conviction based on evidence he was tortured into confessing and leading to Day’s release from prison. Cook County prosecutors agreed not to retry the case.
Day, now 46, lives in Texas and works for Goodwill Industries.
“Texas is a beautiful place and it’s the land of opportunity for me, and I decided to move down there to rebuild my life,” said Day, standing beside his attorneys and friends at Loevy’s West Loop office.
He said he’s seeking “justice” and “accountability.”
“These detectives, they were hired by the city of Chicago to serve and protect, not abuse and neglect,” he said.
A representative from the city’s law department declined to comment.
Burge was fired by CPD in 1993, and later served time in federal prison for perjury related to the torture accusations against him. He died last year at age 70.
