Police Reform
Coverage of civil action, news events and policy change pertaining to policing in Chicago, Illinois and the U.S.
The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability on Thursday recommended the city’s inspector general investigate officers named on an Oath Keepers list so any extremists can be “rooted out” of the department.
Anthony Driver, who heads the Community Commission on Public Safety and Accountability, said the commonalities he has discovered between police and the public has been the “defining moment” of his 14-month tenure.
The Chicago City Council is being urged to reject the arbitrator’s ruling, which would shield the most serious disciplinary cases from public view.
The ruling would allow Chicago police officers accused of the most serious wrongdoing to bypass the board and take their cases to an arbitrator behind closed doors.
Elizabeth French spoke during a hearing in which Eric Morgan pleaded guilty to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, battery with a deadly weapon and obstruction of justice. He was sentenced to seven years.
Judge Lawrence Flood ruled the police officers were within their rights to protect themselves when they opened fire first, shooting Miguel Medina last year.
The officer was arrested in 2018 but was only suspended. A new investigation was launched when the wife told police he punched her in the face and pointed a gun at her.
A Cook County judge is expected to hand down a verdict Thursday for the two Chicago police officers charged with shooting the man last summer in Pilsen.
“Overall, this was encouraging — and a bit of a relief,” said Amanda Pyron of the Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence.
“Let’s not take steps back,” Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th) told reporters Thursday. “Let’s keep working together to make sure that cops are held accountable.”
Tyrone Hood would get $17.5 million after spending 22 years in prison. Wayne Washington spent 14 years behind bars and would get $7.5 million. But Ald. Brian Hopkins worried the City Council would be setting an unaffordable precedent.
The Community Commission on Public Safety and Accountability also will hold a public forum Thursday with CPD Counterterrorism Chief Larry Snelling, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s choice to become Chicago’s permanent police superintendent.
Joseph DeRosa pleaded guilty to resisting and obstructing police. It’s supposed to bar him from being a cop in Illinois.
Two commanders chosen by interim Supt. Fred Waller for leadership roles have been accused of fostering a hostile work environment, and two others have been named in costly lawsuits.
Like our disgraced former governor, Chicago’s current mayor thinks he can quote his way out of a tight spot.
Among other things, Larry Snelling vowed to be more sensitive to officers, saying they are not “robots ... made on a conveyor belt. They’re human beings” with families they want to spend time with.
The city’s lead negotiator is the one former Mayor Lori Lightfoot fired for doing a lengthy interview on a Chicago Sun-Times podcast where he essentially endorsed Paul Vallas over Brandon Johnson in the April 4 mayoral runoff.
“The department will shine under Larry,” says Ald. Chris Taliaferro, a former Chicago Police officer.
The ruling allows officers accused of the most serious wrongdoing to bypass the board, taking their cases to an independent arbitrator behind closed doors.
All but $112,500 of the nearly $5 million settlement approved by the City Council’s Finance Committee is going toward attorneys’ fees.
All three top cop finalists capable of being ‘generational leader’ Chicago needs, search leader says
Anthony Driver Jr., president of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, has a favorite among the three finalists sent to Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has 30 days to decide. But Driver won’t say who it is.
A civilian commission narrowed the field to Angel Novalez, Shon Barnes and Larry Snelling. Mayor Brandon Johnson now has 30 days to either choose one or reject them all and order the panel to launch another search.
Larry Snelling, Chicago police counterterrorism chief, and Angel Novalez, chief of constitutional policing and reform, are seen as favorites to make the top three.
The new civilian oversight body charged with leading the search has until July 14 to pick three finalists and deliver those names to Mayor Brandon Johnson.
The botched 2019 police raid on Young’s apartment prompted reforms. More changes are coming — ‘encouraging,’ City Hall Inspector General Deborah Witzburg says.
“The sin of the police officer was he turned the body camera off a little too soon. ... We should not be paying this family a million dollars,” said Ald. Nick Sposato. But Ald. Chris Taliaferro disagreed: “Either we trust our lawyers or we don’t.”
In January, opposition from police union allies on the City Council forced then-Finance Committee Chair Scott Waguespack to yank the $1 million settlement to the mother of Sharell Brown off the agenda. But Wednesday it passed with little or no debate.
The Cook County Board will be asked to sign off on an identical $7.25 million settlement to compensate Arthur Brown for alleged prosecutorial misconduct, according to his attorney.
Brandon Johnson says you must live within Chicago to air an opinion about the city. He’s wrong.
This time around, the civilian review panel screening candidates will have the input of rank-and-file officers.