A Chicago cop is facing dismissal for fatally shooting a 17-year-old boy during a foot pursuit in North Lawndale in 2019, but how the case will be handled is caught up in a controversy that has spilled over from union contract negotiations to the City Council floor to a Cook County courtroom.
The Chicago Police Board announced disciplinary charges against Officer Adolfo Bolanos Friday, less than a week before the City Council is expected to vote on an arbitrator’s decision that cops facing dismissal or suspensions over one year have a right to circumvent the board and opt for arbitration behind closed doors.
The finding by arbitrator Edwin Benn stemmed from laborious contract negotiations between the city and its largest police union and set off a political firestorm, with Mayor Brandon Johnson calling on alderpersons to reject the decision while advocating for a disciplinary system “that allows for public transparency and accountability.”
A judge has shut down all proceedings before the police board ahead of a Council vote set for Thursday. Bolanos’ high-profile case is the latest example of the kind of grave allegations that could be adjudicated out of public view if the arbitrator’s decision prevails.
On Feb. 16, 2019, Bolanos shot Michael Elam Jr. in his head and back after Elam and three others ran from a car that crashed in the 4100 block of West 21st Place as police pursued it for a traffic violation, authorities have said.
Two guns were recovered, but attorneys for Elam’s family have said he was unarmed. The family was awarded a $5 million settlement from the city in 2022.
Former Chicago Police Supt. David Brown disagreed with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability’s recommendation that Bolanos be terminated for shooting Elam and failing to turn on his body camera, immediately notify dispatchers and render emergency aid.
Brown argued the allegation directly related to the shooting shouldn’t be sustained, and he pushed for a 10-day suspension for Bolanos — a resolution that would’ve kept the case out of the police board’s hands. But in May 2022, the board president at the time broke the gridlock and sided with COPA, setting in motion the proceedings.
Current Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling filed the charges on Jan. 19 to have Bolanos terminated, but they weren’t made public until Bolanos was served with them. Now, it’s unclear who will decide his fate.
In a series of opinions, Benn has determined that cops facing charges like Bolanos can choose to take their cases to an arbitrator instead of going before the police board. Benn holds that state labor law clearly gives cops the right to seek “final and binding arbitration,” like other public sector employees.
The Council voted 33-16 in December to reject Benn’s August decision, which he then reaffirmed in a scathing ruling the following month. In it, Benn harshly criticized Johnson and the alderpersons who dissented and warned that litigation over the issue “may well go on for years” with “no possibility” of the city prevailing.
Johnson’s allies scuttled a vote on the issue last month and instead sent it to the Workforce Development Committee, which then rejected it on Jan. 30. The following day, Johnson’s allies used a parliamentary maneuver to delay a full Council vote again.
Hours later, Cook County Judge Michael Mullen effectively shut down the police board until Feb. 25 and scheduled a hearing for the following day. His order stems from a lawsuit the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police filed against the city in January seeking to enforce Benn’s ruling.
The move most notably delayed the trial-like proceedings for Officer Eric Stillman, who fatally shot 13-year-old Adam Toledo during a foot chase in Little Village in 2021. A status hearing has now been set for March 1 — the same day as the initial hearing in the Bolanos case.
A three-fifths majority vote by the Council is needed to reject Benn’s ruling. The mayor’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment.
FOP President John Catanzara threatened to use the union’s formidable political muscle to target alderpersons who vote down the arbitrator’s ruling. Should Johnson and his allies prevail, Catanzara said he expects Mullen’s order to be extended pending an appeal.
“I think the judge made it pretty clear the direction this is going to end up going,” he said. “So if they want to throw good money after bad — or bad money after good, whatever you want to call it — have at it.”
