Supt. Johnson tries to minimize damage done by mass exoneration

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CPD Supt. Eddie Johnson called into question COPA’s entire investigatory process, arguing that the agency looked at the shooting with the luxury of hindsight, instead of analyzing Officer Robert Rialmo’s actions from his perspective in the moment. | Sun-Times file photo

The mass exoneration of 15 defendants who claimed they were framed by disgraced Chicago Police Sgt. Ronald Watts has “hurt” the drive to restore shattered public trust in the police, but the damage can be repaired, Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said Thursday.

Hours after a judge vacated the felony convictions, Johnson tried to minimize the damage to police credibility that took a beating after the police shooting of Laquan McDonald.

He pointed to the 500 kids in costume who showed up at the Englewood police district on Halloween night to get into the station’s haunted house as evidence of the progress that’s been made.

“We’re making gains in getting the community back to partnership with CPD in terms of reducing crime violence. Things of that nature hurt it, but it doesn’t damage it to where we can’t repair it,” Johnson said of the Watts scandal.

“The majority of police officers…are doing it the right way. We may have bad actors just like in any profession: the media, education, clergy, doesn’t matter. All professions are going to have bad actors. It’s my job when we identify bad actors to hold them accountable.”

If there really is “zero tolerance for misconduct of any kind,” as Johnson and Mayor Rahm Emanuel were quick to emphasize, the superintendent was asked why some members of the Watts crew are still on the street?

“They have due process and rights just like any citizen in this country. If the day comes where they are convicted of something, they won’t be on the job. But we just can’t arbitrarily take the job away from people,” Johnson said.

Why not strip them of their police powers?

“We’re looking at it very hard. And once I get enough information, that may be what happens. But right now, we are looking at it,” he said.

The 15 men whose criminal drug convictions were vacated Thursday alleged that Watts and his crew framed them between 2003 and 2008. And Watts and an officer under his command were sent to federal prison in 2013 for stealing money from a drug courier who’d been working as an FBI informant.

Given that history, Johnson was hard pressed to explain what has taken him so long.

“It did happen years ago. But it wasn’t our investigation….It was taken away from the Chicago Police Department. So that information we just don’t have,” he said.

That explanation didn’t fly with newly-reappointed Police Board President Lori Lightfoot.

“All of the efforts that we are trying to undertake to reform the police department and bridge the gap between police and the community will be negatively affected if officers who commit crimes and admit to it are able to walk away with impunity,” Lightfoot said Thursday.

“Any of those officers who remain on the job must be quickly brought to justice through criminal prosecution and or disciplinary action. And the taxpayers should not be further insulted by having to foot the pensions of these officers who have clearly acknowledged being involved in criminal conduct in the course of their jobs as Chicago Police officers.

Lightfoot also bemoaned the future cost to Chicago taxpayers who will be saddled with a parade of settlement costs.

“The liability will be astronomical….This cycle has to be broken…Everybody involved who has an opportunity to stop this train wreck needs to have a moment of reflection. If not now, when?” she said.

Pressed to assess the damage done to police reform and police credibility, Lightfoot said, “It’s a significant blow. There’s no sugar-coating it.”

Johnson countered, “It’s not the same old, same old. When I became the superintendent, I made it quite clear… that misconduct won’t be tolerated. Misconduct by one officer paints us all in a bad light.”

The superintendent was asked whether the Watts crew’s shakedown victims were due an apology. He did not answer the question directly.

He would only say, “Accountability starts with me and it goes down to the last PPO. Once I get all the information regarding this situation, then I will have more to say about it. But, I just don’t have enough information at this time.”

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