Arthur Brown tilted his head back and covered his face with his hand as a jury late Friday convicted him of gun charges and of assaulting a Chicago police officer whom he has sued for shooting him in the head.
Brown wailed as he was led through the rear of the courtroom.
His sister, Trina, reacted with disbelief, saying she thought the backgrounds of some jurors might have left them unable to fathom the allegations that police officers planted evidence on her brother to cover up wrongdoing.
“There’s no way I can understand how they just found him guilty of this,” Brown said. “He served 2 years in jail for a crime he didn’t do, and he almost lost his life.”
Jurors declined to comment as they hurried from the Criminal Courts Building. Arthur Brown, who has a criminal record that includes drug convictions, faces up to 7 years in prison when he is sentenced July 10.
In his closing argument Friday, defense attorney Richard Dvorak told jurors there was nothing typical about this case, saying that the circumstances surrounding the shooting of his client in April 2001 and its investigation were fraught with police corruption. He said Duane Blackman had wrongfully shot his client and pointed to the officer, who was seated in the courtroom.
“He should be the one facing time, not Arthur,” Dvorak said. Brown’s lawsuit against the officer and the Police Department is pending in federal court.
The attorney reminded jurors of the testimony Thursday of Danyiel Larkins, 19, who testified that he watched Blackman come up behind Brown, chase him, shoot him and drop a gun near him. Both sides in the case agree the pistol found near Brown once belonged to another tactical officer.
Blackman was involved in another shooting last year, and he was placed on desk duty after he and his partner were accused of price-tag switching at a department store.
Prosecutors also offered the testimony of Jeremiah Brooks, who said Brown appeared with a gun as Brooks was running from Blackman, who had just broken up a drug deal.
Brown knew Brooks and, defending the drug spot, pointed the weapon at Blackman, Assistant State’s Atty. Donald Lyman told jurors.
“The name of this case is not the people of the state of Illinois versus Duane Blackman,” Lyman said, adding that the officer worked the city’s worst streets.
