Dixmoor cop, son of chief, accused of battering 66-year-old woman
The son of Dixmoor Police Chief Ronald Burge dragged a 66-yearold woman into the south suburban police station and slammed her into the walls in a back hallway after she protested the arrest of her son and grandson, Cook County prosecutors said Wednesday.
The 6-foot-3, 231-pound Ronald Burge Jr. attacked the 5-foot-3, 127-pound woman on Oct. 5, after she and other relatives came to the police station and argued with officers about the woman’s grandson’s arrest, snapping pictures during the confrontation, Assistant State’s Attorney Heather Weber said.
That’s when the younger Burge, a Dixmoor police commander, tried to take the cellphone of the woman’s son, who is the father of the boy who had been arrested, Weber said. When the man refused to hand over his phone, Burge Jr. took him to the lockup in the back of the station.
The woman followed and snapped more pictures, also refusing to turn over her phone, Weber said. She allegedly ran out to a parking lot. Burge Jr. chased the senior citizen, grabbing her with an arm across her neck while holding his pistol in his other hand, Weber said.
“[Burge Jr.] then carried and dragged the victim back to the police station, with her feet at times dangling off the ground,” Weber said.
Back in the station, Burge Jr. handed his gun to a fellow officer, then “slammed the victim’s face in the back hallway wall on three separate occasions,” Weber said. Cameras in the station and surrounding buildings captured the attack, Weber said.
After 11 hours in a cell, the woman was charged with resisting an officer — a misdemeanor. She was not allowed to post bond at the station and was kept in lockup overnight, Weber said. The next day, the woman was released on her own recognizance, and prosecutors eventually dismissed the charges.
Burge Jr., 31, turned himself in to investigators Tuesday after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Burge Jr. was ordered held in lieu of $20,000 bail for aggravated battery and official misconduct Wednesday.
The Dixmoor police chief — the elder Burge — told the Chicago SunTimes on Wednesday that the prosecutor’s version of the events isn’t true.
He said the woman tried to enter the station in a restricted area when Burge Jr. grabbed the door.
“He turns around and says, ‘What are you doing? You can’t be in here, you’re under arrest,’” according to the police chief.
The woman ran across the street and Burge Jr. pursued her, the chief said.
Then, “She grabs him by the private parts,” the chief alleged. He picked her up because “as long as she’s on the ground, she’s grabbing” him, the elder Burge alleged.
Burge Jr. brought her into the station while the two struggled and “her head hits the wall; he doesn’t slam her into the wall,” the chief said.
“To be clear, I stand by my son 100%,” the elder Burge said. “I’m very proud of my son and I think it is unfair for someone to attack someone’s character and their career over something that is not true.”