A police chief who beat and threatened to kill a man who broke into his SUV and stole a bag of embarrassing personal items, including sex toys, pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to violating the suspect’s civil rights.
Former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke, 51, who led one of the country’s largest suburban police departments, is expected to get over four years in prison in the case. He also admitted to conspiracy to obstruct justice by covering up the beating, which took place in a police station interrogation room in Smithtown, Long Island.
