Vol. 2, Issue 43: Chicago's Criminal Justice Playbook

At Issue: Defining How Police Use Force

A new use-of-force policy announced last week by Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson—following months of public comment on two previous drafts—removes a requirement from the original version that officers use the least amount of force necessary. Instead, officers are now mandated to use force that is reasonable, necessary, and proportionate.

The new policy was welcomed by Police Board President Lori Lightfoot, chair of the mayor’s Police Accountability Task Force, as well as Independent Police Review Authority Administrator Sharon Fairley. Appearing at a press conference with Johnson, community activist William Calloway called the new policy “a big win.”

However, Craig Futterman of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic at the University of Chicago criticized the rules as “watered down” and a “significant retreat” from the original draft. He noted that the original proposal was issued while the Chicago Police Department (CPD) was under federal investigation—before newly appointed Attorney General Jeff Sessions signaled that the Justice Department was unlikely to pursue a consent decree. Futterman argued that the revised policy demonstrates that CPD “is incapable of reform by itself” and underscores the need for court supervision.

Futterman further contended that the new policy falls short of the goals stated in a reform plan CPD issued in March. That document stated that use-of-force policies would make clear that an officer may resort to physical force only when no effective alternative exists and must restrict the amount of force to what is necessary. It also indicated that new policies would require officers to “de-escalate situations as soon as practicable.”

The revised policy advises officers to use de-escalation tactics “when safe and feasible.” According to The New York Times, similar language has been criticized as “too vague” when adopted elsewhere. In Cleveland, where police are operating under a federal consent decree, a proposed use-of-force policy would “require, rather than suggest, de-escalation efforts,” the Times reported.

A “key change” in the new policy restricts officers from shooting at fleeing individuals unless they pose an immediate threat, The Chicago Tribune reported. Last year, The Tribune also noted that foot chases were involved in more than a third of police shootings from 2010 to 2015.

Fraternal Order of Police President Kevin Graham stated that the department does not need new use-of-force policies, adding that “people do not have the right to resist arrest.”

Language in the final policy has been criticized by civil rights and government watchdog groups in the Police Accountability Collaborative. The group previously called on CPD to “clarify that de-escalation is an integral part of effective policing tactics,” strengthen the requirement that officers provide medical aid to wounded suspects, and reinstate a broader duty for officers to intervene when they witness unreasonable force.

The new policy will be implemented in the fall after all CPD officers have completed a four-hour training session, The Tribune reported.

GUEVARA REJECTS IMMUNITY OFFER

Former Detective Reynaldo Guevara has refused an offer of immunity from state and federal prosecutors, The Chicago Sun-Times reported. Prosecutors are now seeking a judge’s order to compel Guevara to testify in a hearing for two men who claim their murder confessions were coerced by the detective.

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office stated in a court filing that it “remains confident that [Gabriel] Solache and [Arturo] Reyes were not wrongfully convicted.”

Guevara has been named in over a dozen wrongful conviction lawsuits, and the convictions of several men he investigated have since been overturned.

COOK COUNTY SETTLES LAWSUIT OVER PROBATION OFFICER RAIDS

Cook County is paying $110,000 to settle two federal civil rights lawsuits alleging that its probation officers collaborated with Chicago police and the FBI to conduct illegal searches, The Chicago Tribune reports. Chicago police officers and an FBI agent remain defendants in the lawsuit.

In a related development last week, Chief Judge Timothy Evans fired Deputy Chief Probation Officer Phillip Loizon. Evans took action three years after a Tribune investigation revealed that probation officers under Loizon’s command had allegedly planted drugs, stolen money, and worked with other agencies to conduct warrantless searches.

ANOTHER CALL FOR DALEY TO TESTIFY IN BURGE CASE

Former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s testimony is necessary to resolve conflicting accounts of how he handled torture allegations while serving as State’s Attorney, according to a filing in a wrongful conviction lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed by Stanley Wrice, whose murder conviction was overturned in 2013 after a judge ruled that detectives under former Commander Jon Burge coerced his confession through physical abuse.

In two previous Burge-related cases, the city settled lawsuits after Daley was ordered to give depositions but before he testified. Daley is also currently a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Alonzo Smith, whose murder conviction was vacated in 2015 based on evidence that he was tortured by Burge’s associates. Daley’s deposition in that case was scheduled for January but was postponed after his attorney cited concerns about an unspecified medical condition.

Ten years ago, The Chicago Reader’s John Conroy reviewed Daley’s responses to questions from a special prosecutor and listed 20 questions he believed Daley should answer.

JUDGE, LAWYERS TUSSLE IN MURDER CASE RETRIAL

Cook County Judge Diane Canon will continue to preside over the retrial of Malvin Washington, despite repeated efforts by defense attorneys—who argue that Canon is biased against their client—to have a new judge assigned.

Washington’s 2004 conviction was overturned by an appellate court, which ruled that Canon’s jury instructions in that trial were inadequate.

Washington’s attorneys have alleged that Canon has insulted them and characterized a key defense witness as a fraud. The matter “came to a bizarre head” last week, according to The Chicago Tribune, in what The Chicago Sun-Times described as a “rambling lecture,” during which Canon accused defense attorneys of wishing her dead and urged Washington to seek different legal representation. He declined her suggestion.

In 2015, Canon acquitted then-Commander Glenn Evans of shoving his gun down a suspect’s throat, despite the alleged victim’s DNA being found on the gun’s barrel. Canon dismissed the victim’s testimony as lacking credibility.