Vol. 2, Issue 38: Chicago's Criminal Justice Playbook
At Issue: The Report Card on Reform— Incomplete
Early intervention, community policing, diversity, training, supervision, and changes to union contracts are areas where reform recommendations have not been implemented, Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot told The Chicago Sun-Times last week. It has been one year since the Police Accountability Task Force, appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and chaired by Lightfoot, issued its report, which included a long list of recommendations.
While an early warning system is in development—to replace two existing but non-functioning systems—it may take a year or more to reach the pilot phase. In the meantime, Lightfoot indicated she is unaware of any systematic interim measures being taken to identify and intervene with problem police officers.
The task force recommended that, until a fully automated program is in place, the Chicago Police Department (CPD) should establish a manual system to identify officers with 10 or more civilian complaints or a pattern of missing court dates or being named in lawsuits, assessing them for additional monitoring by supervisors. According to Lightfoot, this has not happened.
Additionally, The Sun-Times reported that “Lightfoot is not impressed” with a new Community Policing Advisory Panel aimed at “reinvigorating” community policing. She emphasized that community policing must involve district-level engagement and be “fully resourced.”
Other issues requiring attention, according to Lightfoot, include revamping job descriptions and selection criteria for supervisors, improving the field training program to accommodate a hiring surge, appointing a chief diversity officer, and increasing transparency within CPD’s Bureau of Internal Affairs.
CPD “has not committed to many of the reforms and is only beginning to implement others,” Karen Sheley of the ACLU told The Sun-Times, expressing concerns about the pace, content, and transparency of the reform process.
MANY GAPS
Reviewing the Police Accountability Task Force’s recommendations from the beginning, the first five have not yet been addressed. These include significant proposals for improving police-community relations, such as implementing a citywide reconciliation process facilitated by experts, holding quarterly summits on criminal justice reform sponsored by the mayor, developing a plan to address socioeconomic inequality, revising the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD) general order prohibiting racial profiling, and providing detailed information on arrests and traffic stops. The sixth recommendation is the first on the list to have been enacted: “CPD should resume publishing annual reports.”
The general proportion of one out of six recommendations being enacted to date appears to hold true throughout the list.
Some major recommendations have been implemented, including the establishment of a civilian investigative agency and an inspector general for public safety with dedicated funding streams, expanded training in mental health response and de-escalation, and a new policy for the public release of video and audio recordings.
However, significant gaps remain, including the lack of public participation in selecting the chief administrator of the new investigative agency and the inspector general, as originally recommended by the task force.
Several major reforms have yet to be addressed, such as the establishment of a community oversight board and the removal of provisions in police union contracts that support the code of silence. Contract negotiations with the union representing officers have not yet begun, but Police Board President Lori Lightfoot has urged Mayor Rahm Emanuel to articulate the principles he will prioritize once negotiations commence.
Recommendations requiring City Council action have also not been taken up. These include an ordinance mandating prompt access to phone calls and information about free legal representation for arrestees, as well as a requirement that police wait for legal representation before questioning juveniles. Additionally, no action has been taken on a proposed ordinance requiring Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students to receive instruction on their constitutional rights when interacting with police.
EMANUEL’S PROMISES LAG
Changes to the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD) so-called mediation process have not gone far in meeting the recommendations of the Police Accountability Task Force, and a new discipline matrix was issued despite serious criticisms from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Chicago Magazine reviewed a list of 25 task force recommendations that Mayor Rahm Emanuel promised to implement “immediately” one year ago and found that fewer than half have actually been enacted. The review is based on the One Year Later Tracker, an annotated version of the mayor’s 25 reforms compiled by City Bureau and the Invisible Institute.
Two task force members told Chicago Magazine that many promises related to oversight, transparency, and rebuilding trust have stalled, in part due to the withdrawal of federal pressure. One member noted that Emanuel has not reconvened the task force since its report was issued, despite its extensive research on national best practices.
COPA LAUNCH SET
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) is set to launch on September 15, replacing the discredited Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA), according to a report from IPRA Administrator Sharon Fairley, who will lead the new agency during its transition. Fairley reported that she has established a community advisory panel and is developing an independent technology system. She has also issued COPA’s proposed rules and regulations for public comment.
WATTS CASES UNDER REVIEW
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx has committed to reviewing hundreds of arrests made by corrupt Sergeant Ronald Watts. However, the process should not take years, said Josh Tepfer of the Exoneration Project.
Tepfer filed a motion for a new trial for Anthony McDaniels, who stated that Watts’ team planted a gun on him after he complained about being shaken down for guns and drugs. Tepfer argued that prosecutors could bypass drawn-out legal proceedings and simply drop the charges against McDaniels.
At The Intercept, Jamie Kalven examines the numerous inconsistencies in police reports regarding McDaniels’ 2011 arrest.
GUEVARA-LINKED CONVICTIONS OVERTURNED
After vigorously defending murder convictions based on an investigation by disgraced Detective Reynaldo Guevara—and offering one man a deal in which he could go free if he admitted to a murder he has contested for 23 years—Cook County prosecutors announced Wednesday that they were dropping charges against Roberto Almodovar and William Negron. Almodovar was released on Friday, while Negron is appealing a sentence in another case.
Hearings in two additional Guevara-related cases, those of Gabriel Solache and Arturo Reyes, as well as that of Jose Maysonet, are scheduled for this month.
FOP ELECTS HARD-LINER
Officer Kevin Graham decisively defeated Dean Angelo in the election for president of Lodge 7 of the Fraternal Order of Police. Although Angelo consistently opposed police reform initiatives, Graham criticized him for providing input during the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and pledged to be more aggressive and outspoken than his predecessor.
In an interview on WGN-TV, Graham specifically promised to defend a contract provision requiring that civilians filing complaints of police misconduct sign an affidavit, along with other provisions that have been criticized for fostering collusion between officers following incidents of deadly force.
The day after the election results were announced, Alderman Rod Sawyer stated that the City Council Black Caucus would vote against a new police contract unless it includes changes that make it easier to report police misconduct without fear of reprisal.
QUESTIONS IN WOMAN’S DEATH
The efficacy of new training in de-escalation and Taser use was called into question following the release of video footage of the February 10 shooting death of Michele Robey, a woman with bipolar schizoaffective disorder who was wielding a kitchen knife.
911 operators failed to recognize that Robey’s actions strongly indicated a mental health crisis. Upon arrival, officers did not use time and distance as tactical measures or call for backup, and they shot Robey dead within one minute of reaching the scene. Additionally, their taser failed to penetrate the multiple layers of clothing Robey was wearing.
LEGAL SETTLEMENTS ADD UP
Deon Patrick was awarded $13.4 million in a federal lawsuit alleging that Chicago police coerced his confession in a 1992 double murder. The case hinged on the confession of Daniel Taylor, who was later found to have been in police lockup at the time of the murders. Charges against Taylor were dropped in 2013, and Patrick’s life sentence was vacated the following year. Inconsistencies in the case were first exposed in a Chicago Tribune investigation in 2001.
Meanwhile, City Council approval is pending for nearly $1 million in legal settlements related to police misconduct cases. Last year, such settlements cost Chicago taxpayers $30 million.
TORTURE COMMISION “OVERWHELMED”
The “cash-strapped” Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission is relying on pro bono lawyers and law students to help process hundreds of torture claims following the state legislature’s expansion of its jurisdiction beyond cases related to former Commander Jon Burge, The Chicago Tribune reports. Last year, the commission reviewed and decided 16 cases.