Vol. 2, Issue 59: Chicago's Criminal Justice Playbook
At Issue: COPA recommends firings in two shootings
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) recommended that Officer Robert Rialmo be fired for the “unjustified use of deadly force” in the 2015 shootings of Quintonio LeGrier and Bettie Jones (Sun-Times). Meanwhile, Supt. Eddie Johnson concurred with the Independent Police Review Authority’s (IPRA) earlier recommendation to terminate two officers involved in the 2016 shooting of Paul O’Neal.
Several West Side leaders urged State’s Attorney Kim Foxx to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the deaths of LeGrier and Jones (ABC 7), but Foxx’s office rejected the request, citing its previous determination that it could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Rialmo did not fear for his life (Chicago Tribune).
Johnson also backed IPRA’s recommendation to fire Officers Michael Coughlin Jr. and Jose Torres for endangering civilians and fellow officers when they shot at a moving car on a residential street. The unarmed driver, 18-year-old Paul O’Neal, was killed after a foot chase. The case now goes before the Police Board (Tribune).
IPRA ruled that Officer Jose Diaz was justified in shooting O’Neal, believing he had a gun, but recommended a six-month suspension because Diaz failed to activate his body camera and allegedly kicked O’Neal after the shooting. “It is because [Diaz] turned off his body camera that we don’t actually know what happened in that backyard,” said an attorney for O’Neal’s mother, who has filed a federal lawsuit (Sun-Times).
It is unclear whether Johnson has signed off on IPRA’s recommendations regarding Diaz. A recent administrative judge’s ruling could overturn disciplinary actions related to a year-old bodycam policy if approved by the state labor board, which ordered the city to negotiate the policy with the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) (Tribune).
The FOP also asked the city inspector general to investigate alleged media leaks by COPA, citing a Tribune story on its investigation into a December bar fight involving Rialmo (Sun-Times). COPA and CPD are investigating claims that Rialmo punched two men in an Edison Park bar and left before police arrived. Assigned to desk duty after the LeGrier and Jones shootings, Rialmo has since been stripped of his police powers (Tribune). A COPA spokesperson told the Sun-Times that information about the fight was released in response to a FOIA request.
INVESTIGATOR CHARGES DEFAMATION
A lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to defame key figures in the wrongful conviction movement marks the latest chapter in a long-running legal battle over a case that helped end the death penalty in Illinois (Tribune).
The suit names former State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, attorneys who have defended police officers in civil rights cases—including former Cmdr. Jon Burge—and Martin Preib, vice president of Lodge 7 of the Fraternal Order of Police. Preib, a blogger, has publicly defended overturned convictions, including some linked to Burge.
The plaintiff, private investigator Paul Ciolino, worked with David Protess and Northwestern University’s Center on Wrongful Convictions to secure the release of Anthony Porter, who had been sentenced to death for a 1982 double murder. Porter was freed in 1999 after Alstory Simon confessed to the crime, a case that helped spur Gov. George Ryan’s moratorium on the death penalty.
Simon, however, later alleged he was framed, claiming Ciolino, Protess, and Northwestern coerced his confession and fabricated evidence. He filed a lawsuit against them after his conviction was vacated in 2014.
Ciolino now alleges Alvarez defamed him in the process of vacating Simon’s conviction (Injustice Watch), despite a year-long investigation by her top assistants concluding that Simon’s supporters had “mischaracterized the evidence implicating Porter” and that “there is not sufficient evidence to seek to vacate Simon's convictions” (Chicago Tribune).
Last year, Tribune columnist Eric Zorn reported that depositions were undermining the case against Ciolino, Protess, and Northwestern, with witnesses supporting the idea that Simon was not framed and that his conviction was reasonable.
Preib—whose email calling the female head of the city’s police accountability agency a vulgar term is cited in Ciolino’s complaint—called the lawsuit “frivolous and without merit.” Attorney Terry Ekl, another defendant, said the allegations “are so false as to be sanctionable.”
PROGRESS SLOW SINCE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REPORT
One year after the Justice Department issued a scathing report on the Chicago Police Department, The Daily Line examines reform efforts, calling them “the first steps in a long haul.” The report reviews the progress of a potential consent decree with judicial oversight, leadership challenges at new oversight bodies, the long-awaited proposal for a community oversight board, and ongoing issues with the police union contract.
Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson noted a shift in how CPD and the administration approach reform. “A check-the-box approach to the recommendations of the DOJ and the [mayor’s Police Accountability Task Force] may win press cycles, but ultimately, this is a complex, holistic undertaking. I am seeing signs of their appreciation of that.”
A spokesperson for the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability said its long-promised proposal for a community oversight board would be released within “two or three weeks” (Daily Line).
On WBEZ’s Morning Shift, Tamar Manasseh, founder of Mothers Against Senseless Killing, reflected on the state of police reform: “So little has been done in terms of implementation that people don’t really trust the police right now.” She emphasized the need for “closer relations between the community and the police,” noting that she doesn’t know a single officer who lives in her neighborhood. She also discussed her recent New York Times op-ed on CPD’s gang database and the fear it instills in her 19-year-old son.
PUBLIC SAFETY INSPECTOR GENERAL RESIGNS
In another blow to police reform, Lisa Kunard resigned as deputy inspector general for public safety just nine months after taking the post. She is returning to private sector consulting (Sun-Times).
In a statement, Kunard said her office “is well on its way to doing groundbreaking work,” while Inspector General Joe Ferguson assured that Chicago “can expect to see the fruits of the team she has built reflected in work and public-facing initiatives in the coming weeks.”
The IG for public safety was created to evaluate the entire police accountability system and analyze legal settlements presented to the City Council. However, Police Board President Lori Lightfoot noted, “This hasn’t happened. This needs to get right and quickly.”
ANOTHER GUEVARA CONVICTION DROPPED
Another murder conviction linked to former Det. Reynaldo Guevara has been overturned. Thomas Sierra’s 1995 conviction was vacated just two months after he was paroled following more than 22 years in prison—and a month after a judge ruled that Guevara lied in another case. This marks the eighth conviction tied to Guevara to be overturned in two years (Chicago Tribune).
Last month, a Buzzfeed report detailed Guevara’s misconduct in building murder cases against Sierra and another man (the latter was acquitted), including allegations of beating suspects, ignoring contradictory evidence, and manipulating eyewitnesses. In Sierra’s trial, one witness who initially identified him later recanted, saying Guevara had pressured him to do so (Buzzfeed).
Meanwhile, statements by an Assistant State’s Attorney at a hearing where the convictions of Gabriel Solache and Arturo Reyes were overturned suggest that Cook County prosecutors still consider Guevara credible (Chicago Reporter). A spokesperson for State’s Attorney Kim Foxx declined to comment on dozens of pending cases tied to Guevara and former Cmdr. Jon Burge, and at a press conference, Foxx refused to say whether Guevara could face perjury charges (Sun-Times).
SETTLEMENT IN BURGE-LINKED LAWSUIT
The City Council approved a $9.3 million settlement for a man who alleged his confession to a 1984 arson that killed six people was coerced through a severe beating by detectives under former Cmdr. Jon Burge (Chicago Tribune). This brings the total cost of Burge-related cases—through settlements, judgments, reparations, and legal fees—to $120 million (Sun-Times).
James Kluppelberg spent nearly 25 years in prison before his conviction was vacated in 2012. A judge later granted him a certificate of innocence despite opposition from the Cook County State’s Attorney.
Though Kluppelberg’s confession was thrown out at trial, he was convicted based on testimony from a romantic rival who later recanted. He also alleged authorities concealed evidence pointing to another suspect. At the time of Kluppelberg’s arrest, Burge was commander of CPD’s bomb and arson unit.
Meanwhile, the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission last month unanimously found “sufficient credible evidence of torture” to order judicial review in the case of Demond Weston, who claims his confession was coerced through physical abuse by Burge’s detectives (Injustice Watch).
Weston is one of nearly 30 men still alleging their confessions were obtained through torture under Burge (Injustice Watch). Since 2011, the commission has referred 23 cases for judicial review and currently faces a backlog of 457 cases.
SHOTSPOTTER EXAMINED
Chicago is rolling out ShotSpotter technology faster than any other city, with plans to cover 136 square miles by next year at a projected cost of $18 million—plus a $6.5 million annual subscription to its operator, SST Inc. However, concerns remain over its effectiveness, constitutionality, and ethics. In Chicago, only 10% of ShotSpotter alerts led to enough evidence to open investigations.
While some credit ShotSpotter and other technology with reducing gun violence in high-crime districts, proving its impact is difficult. An Englewood anti-violence organizer argues that technological policing alone is not a comprehensive strategy, noting that CPD’s CAPS program was also revived in Englewood last year and that multiple factors contribute to violence reduction (South Side Weekly).
LITTLE ACCOUNTABILITY IN SOUTH SUBURBS
Despite 113 police shootings in suburban Cook County since 2005, not a single officer has been disciplined or charged, according to an investigation by the Better Government Association and WBEZ. Most shootings were never reviewed, and many state police investigations stalled when officers refused to answer questions. Suburban taxpayers have paid more than $12 million to settle lawsuits in 25 questionable shootings (WBEZ).
DNA EVIDENCE CITED IN PETITION
Curtis Croft and Demetrius Henderson are seeking to overturn their convictions for a 1986 rape and murder, citing DNA evidence from a rape kit that sat in storage for years. The DNA taken from the victim did not match either man.
At their 1987 trial, they argued their confessions were coerced through physical abuse. Their statements, along with those of other witnesses and defendants, contained numerous inconsistencies. In 2007, a key prosecution witness, who was 16 at the time of his testimony, recanted, claiming police had coerced him (Injustice Watch).
FORMER PROSECUTOR, NOW JUDGE, MADE “FALSE STATEMENTS” IN TRIAL
Longtime Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Gerber was appointed to a Cook County Circuit Court vacancy in December and is now running for a full six-year term. However, a judge recently ruled that Gerber made false statements to a jury in the trial of Arthur Brown, whose arson conviction was overturned in October (Injustice Watch).
MINORITY HIRING STILL LAGS
Minority hiring at CPD continues to lag. Since 2016, only 14% of new officers have been African American, compared to 41% white. In the four years prior, 12% of hires were African American, while about half were white. A CPD official said recruitment efforts aim to improve these numbers (Sun-Times).