IPRA investigator revealed info on police shooting to victim’s family, IG finds
An investigator for the now-abolished Independent Police Review Authority was accused Thursday of concealing “material” information about a police shooting, improperly communicating sensitive details to the victim’s family and seeking a referral fee in exchange for connecting the family with an attorney.
Inspector General Joe Ferguson’s quarterly report says the shooting happened Nov. 23, 2016, but does not identify the investigator or the shooting victim. The date coincides with the fatal police shooting of 19-year-old Kajaun Raye near 65th Street and Marshfield Avenue in West Englewood.
“A responding Chicago Police Department officer provided sensitive information, such as the potential location of the weapon, as well as photographs, to the then-investigator regarding the shooting,” the inspector general’s report states.
“On the same date, the investigator provided the victim’s home address to an acquaintance at the National Attorney Referral Service, then arranged and attended a meeting between that representative, an attorney and the victim’s family.”
The investigator “never informed anyone” at IPRA of contact with the attorney service or the victim’s family, “waited four days” to inform IPRA of the material information received from the officer and “repeatedly called” the victim’s family during the investigation, the report states.
The investigator also “lied or omitted material information in statements to IPRA, the FBI” and the inspector general’s office.
The accused IPRA investigator subsequently went to work as a civilian employee of the police department but was fired and placed on a do-not-hire list at Ferguson’s request.
A source told the Sun-Times that the former investigator in question is Kelvin Lett.
Lett previously filed a federal lawsuit against IPRA, alleging that he was ordered to find a police shooting was unjustified.
Lett’s lawsuit alleged that in June 2016, Sharon Fairley, IPRA’s former chief administrator, ordered him “to alter his reports so as to lie about his findings on a particular case regarding an officer-involved shooting of a civilian.”
He claimed Fairley said “he had to have a more ‘devious mind’ to do this job and that he needed to lie about his findings in such a way to reflect that the officer shooting was unjustified.” The suit was dismissed last year. Police Sgt. John Poulos has said Raye pointed a gun at him before the officer opened fire. Raye died of a single gunshot wound to the back.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which replaced IPRA, has ruled the shooting justified, even though three months passed before any gun was found.
Raye’s social media activity factored into its conclusion.
After obtaining warrants to search Raye’s social media accounts, COPA found that a day before the shooting, Raye sent a photo to another person that appeared to show a Kahr Arms CW40 pistol — the same type of gun eventually recovered by police.
Raye’s mother has branded COPA’s findings as “bulls---” and filed a lawsuit against the city and Poulos.
Embattled Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s handpicked alderman was accused Thursday of engaging in “prohibited political activity” by putting his name and Madigan’s on a graffiti blaster bought in 2013 with taxpayer money.
Inspector General Joe Ferguson’s quarterly report does not identify Ald. Marty Quinn (13th) as the alderman who used city equipment to promote himself and his political patron and used a photo of the equipment in a political ad featuring himself and his state representative.
It simply accused “an alderman” of playing politics with city equipment and of knowingly allowing “a non-city employee to use the city-owned graffiti blaster throughout the state representative’s district, which extends outside the city limits.”
Ferguson asked the Board of Ethics to investigate Quinn, but the board declined because there was no signed complaint. That requirement has since been rescinded.
Quinn acknowledged he is the alderman written about in the inspector general’s report. But he categorically denied playing politics with city resources and said the graffiti blaster was never used outside city limits.
“That sign says, ‘Madigan-Quinn Service Office.’ Where does it say vote? It doesn’t. That is not the case at all. The idea that a graffiti blaster is being used as politics is not the case at all,” Quinn said.
“You see government signs all the time with phone numbers and office numbers. Same thing [here]. For people who see graffiti to call our office is exactly what we’re trying to do.”
Quinn said he “cooperated 100%” with Ferguson’s investigation and the Board of Ethics dismissed it.
“This all originated as a witch hunt by Faisal Khan, Bruce Rauner and the Illinois Policy Institute.”
Two years ago, former Legislative Inspector General Faisal Khan’s now-defunct “Project Six” accused Quinn of using $24,992 of his 2015 aldermanic expense allowance to buy an “industrial multi-purpose vehicle” in violation of city rules.
Quinn’s voucher for the purchase was initially rejected by the then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Department of Finance, citing the prohibition against buying motor vehicles.
But the rejection of Quinn’s voucher was reversed after a flurry of communications between the city and Madigan’s office that included Kevin Quinn, the alderman’s brother, who was a state employee at the time.
Khan’s investigation also homed in on $52,513 in expense vouchers for the graffiti blaster and related supplies that was advertised for use by constituents throughout Madigan’s legislative district, which takes in other wards and parts of surrounding suburbs.
Equally troubling to Khan was the graffiti blaster had a sign that read, “State Rep. Madigan and Ald. Quinn service vehicle” with a phone number of the office the two men share. The blaster was also advertised on a website Quinn and Madigan share and at least two pieces of literature paid for by Madigan.
Two years ago, Marty Quinn found himself at the center of a #MeToo scandal swirling around Madigan’s once-impenetrable political organization.
The alderman was accused of playing a pivotal go-between role for his brother and political consultant Alaina Hampton, who accused Kevin Quinn of stalking her with a series of harassing text messages.
Madigan fired Kevin Quinn and banned a second lieutenant, Shaw Decremer, from his political organization because of allegations of bullying and harassment.