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HAMMOND, Ind. (Post-Tribune) ― Former Gary Police Chief Thomas Houston teared up on the witness stand Friday as he recalled how he felt when he discovered his department-issued .40-caliber Beretta had been stolen by burglars, a robbery he described as a "structural rape."

"For 41 years, at that time, I had always been on the other side of the criminal justice system," said Houston, who is on trial for allegedly beating and violating the civil rights of four suspects in the robbery.

During cross-examination, Justice Department attorney Betsy Biffl questioned whether that emotion might not have prompted Houston to batter two suspects in the robbery and illegally detain them in the course of an apparently disorderly investigation.

"You broke down in tears 15 months later; are you telling me you were not upset?" Biffl asked during a two-hour line of questioning.

Poised and genial during questioning by his attorney, Fred Work, Houston seemed flustered and at times evasive as he sparred with Biffl over his version of the events on June 1, 2007, when Houston returned home from a funeral to find his house ransacked and his gun missing.

Houston's account of the ensuing hours described a far more measured response from the chief than the version offered by the four alleged victims.

Houston said he identified himself as chief to an occupant of the house, Sheila Baker, and was told he could go inside. Baker and three witnesses who were inside when Houston walked in, testified he never announced himself.

Melissa Manley had testified Houston called her a "filthy, fat b----" as he slapped her and punched her in the stomach, threatening to "beat the bastard baby" out of her after she told him she was pregnant.

Houston described his conduct in far more polite terms, admitting to Biffl he had raised his voice, but denying he was yelling. Manley had said Houston slapped her immediately upon entering the house, shouting, "Where's my (stuff); I know you stole my (stuff)."

Houston recalled: "I was very passive toward her. I said, 'How would you feel if you came home and found your house had been ransacked, had been attempted to burn down?'"

He admitted to slapping her once after she repeatedly refused to leave the house after he told her she was under arrest.

After Houston struck Manley, he said he threw her friend -- 5-foot 2-inch, 140-pound Victor Adams -- onto a couch after Adams lunged at the 6-foot 7-inch, 240-pound chief.

Houston said he suspected Manley and the other three suspects subsequently taken to the jail knew the name of the person who stole his gun, though arrest reports list them as the actual suspects.

Outside the house, Adams kicked at the chief after refusing to give Houston the name of Manley's ex-boyfriend. Houston kicked back, striking Adams "on the right ankle."

Adams testified earlier he was kicked multiple times in the abdomen, legs, head and buttocks. A police officer at the scene, Jose Rivas, testified he had heard the chief slap the handcuffed Adams, then saw Houston kick Adams several times.

Houston said Rivas' view was blocked.

"I'm 6 foot 7, Jose Rivas cannot see around me," he said. "What Jose Rivas saw was my response to what Victor Adams did to me. That's all he could see, because that's all that happened."

Houston offered no explanation for why Manley, Adams and another suspect were held at the jail for three days before they were released without being charged, a violation of state law.

Houston, deputy chief Thomas Branson and Sgt. Thomas Decanter face eight criminal counts related to the alleged incident. The trial will resume Monday with closing arguments before U.S. Judge James T. Moody.

(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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