Vol. 2, Issue 12: COPA

(Photo by Vidura Jang Bahadur)

At Issue: COPA in Chicago

The mayor’s office is meeting with aldermen to discuss an ordinance that would replace the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) and establish an inspector general for public safety.

According to reports, the new agency would have expanded authority to investigate illegal stops and arrests. Additionally, former employees of the Chicago Police Department and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office would be prohibited from serving as investigators for a five-year period.

Critics, including Ald. Scott Waguespack, argue that the ordinance does not go far enough in ensuring the new agency’s independence. It does not remove COPA’s budget from the annual appropriations process or allocate additional resources for the new inspector general. Furthermore, the ordinance does not grant COPA the authority to hire its own independent legal counsel, instead requiring it to go through the city’s law department—creating a potential conflict of interest.

Emanuel’s office has stated that it expects the City Council to vote on the proposal—which has yet to be finalized—at its September 14 meeting. However, some council members have indicated that more time may be needed.

Transcriptions of recent community hearings on police reform are available through the IPRA Tracker, a collaboration between City Bureau and the Invisible Institute. The tracker includes collections of unpublished reports, law enforcement documents, and side-by-side comparisons of proposed ordinances. Designed as a tool for public information and input, the platform allows users to add annotations to crowdsourced sections.

Police sections. Chicago police killed 92 people and wounded 170 in 435 police shootings between 2010 and 2015, according to a Chicago Tribune analysis. African Americans accounted for 80% of those shot by police, while white individuals accounted for 6%.

The city released the data to the Tribune only after the newspaper threatened to sue following a seven-month legal battle over a public records request.

More data. Last week, the Chicago Tribune filed a motion requesting that a state appeals court mandate the immediate release of Chicago Police Department records of civilian misconduct complaints dating back to 1967.

The motion followed the Illinois Supreme Court’s denial of a request by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) to stay a July 8 appeals court order requiring the release of the records. The FOP sought to delay enforcement of the order while it pursued an appeal to the Supreme Court. The union has filed for leave to appeal, but the request has not yet been granted.

(Citizens Police Data Project)

In July, the appeals court ruled that contract clauses requiring the destruction of complaint records were “legally unenforceable” as they conflicted with the city’s obligation to comply with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

The Chicago Tribune argues that the Supreme Court’s denial of the union’s motion to stay the order eliminates any legal barriers to releasing the records.

TRAUMA: It is not uncommon for children in Chicago to experience violent interactions with police, and when they do, the effects can be long-lasting, experts told the Chicago Reporter.

The Reporter examined 63 police misconduct lawsuits involving minors that cost taxpayers $24.6 million between 2012 and 2015. According to the report, officers receive little training on how to interact with children in ways that minimize the risk of trauma.

Meanwhile, as many as 20% of police officers exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), both from involvement in violent incidents and from the “daily grind of being an officer,” WBEZ reports.

Officer Brian Warner, who shot and killed an arrestee after being shot himself by the man, leads a support group called Chicago Police Survivors and argues that the department should do more to support officers dealing with trauma.

ALTERNATIVES: A coalition of community organizations is planning a Community Peace Surge for Labor Day weekend, and support for the initiative is growing, according to organizers. The effort includes neighborhood peace patrols, interventions and mediation, and activities aimed at engaging youth.

The initiative comes in response to the Fraternal Order of Police’s (FOP) call for its members to decline voluntary overtime during the holiday weekend.

Some view this as an example of the kind of alternatives to policing advocated by young activists calling for police abolition, as profiled in the Chicago Reader. According to one supporter, the call for abolition is more of a long-term strategy and goal than an immediate demand. The movement has roots in the prison abolition movement and, in Chicago, in efforts to reduce youth incarceration. These efforts have led to a range of alternative projects for reducing conflict, such as peace circles for youth involved in gangs and the criminal justice system.

One such alternative—though not directly associated with the abolition movement—is the daily vigil of Mothers Against Senseless Killing (MASK), a group that has taken over one of Englewood’s most violent corners and successfully reduced tensions and prevented shootings on the block. The strategy focuses on stopping violence by building community, WBEZ reports. However, the group now faces challenges as a local landlord has lodged complaints with the police about their presence.

Appearing on Chicago Newsroom, peace surge organizer Phillip Jackson of the Black Star Movement distanced himself from abolitionist rhetoric. “I like the police,” he said. “I don’t like bad policing. I want the same policing in Englewood as in Barrington.”

(Chicago Newsroom)

CPD can also alienate its supporters—including musician and activist Rhymefest, who told the Sun-Times that he has friends who are officers and has defended the police in recent debates. However, when he went to the Grand Crossing station on Saturday to report a robbery, he said he was “treated like a criminal” and told to leave. CPD has since apologized for the incident.

Mayor Emanuel also issued an apology, promising that the officer involved would be disciplined and stating that he would “guarantee [police] won’t treat another resident like this.” However, Rhymefest told Mark Brown that he did not believe the mayor’s guarantee. Appearing on Chicago Tonight, the rapper said he appreciated the department’s response but described Emanuel’s apology as “empty.”

DETECTIVES: Chicago’s murder clearance rate of 46% over several years is among the lowest in the country and far below the 68% average for large cities, Reuters reports. (Earlier this year, DNAinfo reported that CPD had solved just 26% of the previous year’s homicides.)

Hundreds of murders remain unsolved as the number of homicides continues to rise, placing pressure on a shrinking detective force. Only 8% of CPD’s sworn personnel are detectives, compared to 15% in New York City and Los Angeles.

Another contributing factor could be a lack of diversity in detective promotions, the Sun-Times reported in June. Though Black and Latino residents make up two-thirds of the city’s population, only 28% of detective promotions since 2006 have gone to Black or Latino men, while 55% have gone to white men.