Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― The man falsely accused of killing an off-duty Chicago Police officer is lashing back with a federal lawsuit against the city and the Chicago Police Department, claiming he was severely mistreated during the investigation.

As CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports, the lawsuit claims police withheld food and water for three days while Jason Austin was in custody. The lawsuit filed Monday also alleges that Austin's friends—Antwan Belcher, Jeffrey Finley and Michelle Riley—were beaten by Area 4 police when they didn't help build the case against Austin.

Austin, 26, was released from custody at the Cook County Jail after charges against him were dropped for lack of evidence. He was the only person charged in the Aug. 13 murders of Chicago Police Detective Robert Soto and social worker Kathryn Romberg, who were both found shot to death in Soto's personal car in the 3000 block of West Franklin Boulevard.

Before he died, Soto said the robbers fled in a maroon car, which was tied to Austin, but Austin and his own attorneys argued that his car was in the repair shop at the time. Meanwhile, witnesses who placed Austin at the scene changed their story.

Austin was charged in the case just five days after the bodies were found. He told the Chicago Sun-Times that when he was arrested, he awoke to find eight police officers surrounding his bed with their guns drawn.

"I just seen them all around me," Austin, 26, said Monday in his civil attorney's downtown office. "They grabbed me off the bed, twisted my arm and put the cuffs on."

Austin says his life will never be the same and told the Sun-Times he is afraid to leave his house.

"Everywhere I go, I got to look over my shoulder and got to be worried about what's going to happen. I can't live like I was living," said Austin, whose attorney Jeffrey Granich filed a federal lawsuit Monday on his behalf and three others who claim they were physically assaulted by police during the high-profile investigation.

When Austin was released from jail, his criminal defense attorney predicted trouble for him when interviewed by CBS 2's Mike Parker.

"These police detectives are great detectives but they're angry," attorney David Wiener said. "And if I were Jason Austin I would not be going back to my home Area 4. Because he could be dropping a piece of gum on the sidewalk and be picked up in the next 25 minutes. So my advice to him, get the heck out of town."

Austin said officers never beat him but refused to give him food and water for three days as they tried to question him. The father of three said he remained tight-lipped in the interrogation room and would only tell police that his maroon Buick that police tied to the Aug. 13 shooting was in a West Side auto repair shop at the time.

Chicago Police spokeswoman Monique Bond said Monday, "detectives have conducted themselves in a professional manner throughout the course of this investigation."

"The department relies on a number of investigative tools such as electronic recording interrogation to ensure investigative integrity, and we will continue to follow the evidence wherever it may lead," Bond said.

Police have said witnesses in the case were intimidated by Austin's friends. Authorities charged two girls, Tashianda Howland, 18, and a 16-year-old relative, with beating a female witness in the case.

But Austin said Monday he was unaware of any attempts by his friends to intimidate witnesses.

Austin said that in the hours before the shooting he was driving around in his van with friends. He then pulled over and spent the rest of the night hanging out with childhood friends at Ohio and Kedzie when he heard distant gunshots but thought nothing of it.

"I was doing my regular routine, hanging, messin' with the females," Austin said.

Austin has been spending time with his three children and girlfriend at his West Side home. If authorities find additional evidence, he could still be charged with the crimes again.

CBS 2's Joanie Lum and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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