LEADERS, RESIDENTS RESPOND TO DOJ REPORT
LEADERS, RESIDENTS RESPOND TO DOJ REPORT
By Christopher Shuttleworth
The Justice Department (DOJ) recently announced that it found reasonable cause to believe that the Chicago Police Department (CPD) engages in a pattern or practice of using force, including deadly force, in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.
The department found that CPD officers’ practices unnecessarily endanger themselves and result in unnecessary and avoidable uses of force, according to a DOJ press release.
The pattern or practice results from systemic deficiencies in training and accountability, including the failure to train officers in de-escalation and the failure to conduct meaningful investigations of uses of force, according to DOJ officials.
The city of Chicago and the Justice Department have signed an agreement in principle to work together, with community input, to create a federal court-enforceable consent decree addressing the deficiencies found during the investigation.
“One of my highest priorities as Attorney General has been to ensure that every American enjoys police protection that is lawful,
responsive, and transparent,” said former Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, in a released statement before the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
“Sadly, our thorough investigation into the Chicago Police Department found that far too many residents of this proud city have not received that kind of policing. The resulting deficit in trust and accountability is not just bad for residents – it’s also bad for dedicated police officers trying to do their jobs safely and effectively. With this announcement, we are laying the groundwork for the difficult but necessary work of building a stronger, safer, and
more united Chicago for all who call it home,” she continued.
But how the Department of Justice uses consent decrees for reforming police departments could change under the incoming
U.S. attorney general. Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump’s pick to head the DOJ, has called consent decrees “one of the most dangerous … exercises of raw power.”
In response to the DOJ’s report, Illinois and Chicago leaders
called for a DOJ Town hall meeting Jan. 18th at Rainbow Push,
located at 930 E. 50th St.
The city of Chicago Police Department was the largest police
department that has ever been investigated by the Department of
Justice for a pattern and practice of unconstitutional policing, said
Lori E. Lightfoot, president of the Chicago Police Board and a
member of the mayor’s Police Accountability Task Force.
“It’s not just individual, isolated incidents or problems,”
Lightfoot said. “They found problems in every facet of the police
department. From the way in which it recruits, from the way
in which they train and from the way in which they provide
additional professional development to veteran police officers,”
she said.
Cook County Bar Association Attorney Andre Grant said
that he isn’t acknowledging defeat, but believes training isn’t the
primary issue but the mindset, belief and culture of the police
system toward the black community, and that the impact of the
report is synonymous to taking a cup of water and throwing it on
a [large] fire.
“You have two systems of policing in this country,” Grant said.
“Every report that was done of a major city whether it [has] been
Baltimore or Ferguson have all come to the same conclusion. Black
people [have] been misused by the police department. [Ever]
since the Emancipation Proclamation we’ve been telling white
America that police been beating the hell out of us.”
Grant said this is a crisis in leadership and the only way it
will change is getting a leader to say I’m going to change the police
department.
Illinois State Representative Mary Flowers said she needs
more people in the black community to be more engaged with
issues like the police labor contract.
“A lot of stuff in there [in the report] should not be in there
because it violates our constitution,” Flowers said...No one is
holding them accountabile.”
Deputy Chief of the Chicago Police Department Larry Watson
said the public needs to give the police department a chance to address the issues of the report and make the changes for both the
department and African American communities.
Retired Police Officer Richard Wooten said while the department is going through its reformation, “we must realize that no police officer can make your community safer than what you can make it.”
“We have to create safe programs in our communities that will empower the people with CPD acting as a resource,” Wooten said. “We must demand for CPD to hire and assign police that
[actually] understand us.”
According to a DOJ press release, on Dec. 7, 2015, Attorney General Lynch announced the investigation into the CPD and
the city’s Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA). The
investigation focused on CPD’s use of force, including racial,
ethnic and other disparities in use of force, and its systems of
accountability.
In the course of its pattern or practice investigation, the
department interviewed and met with city leaders, current and
former police officials, and numerous officers throughout all
ranks of CPD. The department also accompanied line officers
on over 60 ride-alongs in every police district; heard from over
1,000 community members and more than 90 community
organizations; reviewed thousands of pages of police documents,
including all relevant policies, procedures, training and materials;
and analyzed a randomized, representative sample of force reports
and the investigative files for incidents that occurred between
January 2011 and April 2016, including over 170 officer-involved
shooting investigations and documents related to over 400
additional force incidents.
The department found that CPD’s pattern or practice of
unconstitutional force is largely attributable to deficiencies in its
accountability systems and in how it investigates uses of force,
responds to allegations of misconduct, trains and supervises
officers, and collects and reports data on officer use of force. The
department also found that the lack of effective community oriented policing strategies and insufficient support for officer
wellness and safety contributed to the pattern or practice of
unconstitutional force.
In addition, the department also identified serious concerns
about the prevalence of racially discriminatory conduct by some
CPD officers and the degree to which that conduct is tolerated
and in some respects caused by deficiencies in CPD’s systems
of training, supervision and accountability. The department’s
findings further note that the impact of CPD’s pattern or practice
of unreasonable force falls heaviest on predominantly black and
Latino neighborhoods, such that restoring police-community trust
will require remedies addressing both discriminatory conduct and
the disproportionality of illegal and unconstitutional patterns of
force on minority communities.
In the agreement in principle, the Justice Department and
the city of Chicago agreed that compliance with the consent decree
will be reviewed by an independent monitor. The agreement
in principle provides a general framework for change, but the
department will be doing community outreach to solicit input
in developing comprehensive reforms. In the days ahead, the
department will continue speaking to local authorities, officers
and ordinary citizens to gather their perspectives about the
challenges facing the city – and the changes needed to address
them. Comments from the public may be provided by email to
Community.CPD@crt.usdoj.gov
Latest Stories
- CTU Gathers with Faith-based Leaders to Highlight Recent Tentative Agreement Wins for Students and Educators
- COOK COUNTY COMMISSIONER KISHA MCCASKILL TAKES CENTER STAGE AS SOUTH SUBURBAN COMMUNITY UNITES FOR A GREENER FUTURE
- RICH TOWNSHIP SUPERVISOR CALVIN JORDAN LEADS HEARTWARMING SPRING CELEBRATION FOR HUNDREDS OF FAMILIES WITH “EASTER JAMBOREE” CELEBRATION
- Local Musician’s Career Spans 50 Years
- Have Questions About Money? The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office Can Help
Latest Podcast
STARR Community Services International, Inc.
