Sweeping reform urged for ‘broken’ Chicago police
CHICAGO — The Chicago Police Department must acknowledge its racist past and overhaul its handling of excessive-force allegations before true reforms can take place, according to a scathing draft report from a task force established by Mayor Rahm Emanuel following public unrest over the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald.
The Police Accountability Task Force’s report — scheduled to be released as early as this week — blames both the Police Department and its primary oversight agency for a “broken” system rooted in racial bias and indifference. It also targets the collective bargaining agreements between the city and police union for turning the “code of silence into official policy,” according to a draft of the executive summary obtained by the Chicago Tribune.
The 18-page executive summary recommends abolishing the Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates allegations of officer misconduct, and implementing a citywide reconciliation process beginning with the police superintendent acknowledging the department’s “history of racial disparity and discrimination.”
“Reform is possible if there is a will and a commitment. But where reform must begin is with an acknowledgment of the sad history and present conditions which have left the people totally alienated from the police, and afraid for their physical and emotional safety,” the draft report says.
Emanuel established the task force in December after a video of McDonald’s fatal shooting roiled the city and raised the specter of a federal civil rights investigation, which is ongoing. The mayor announced formation of the task force the same day he fired Supt. Garry McCarthy.
At the time, Emanuel insisted his administration had made significant improvements in the area of police accountability.
His task force’s draft report appears to dispute that.
“The linkage between racism and CPD did not just bubble up in the aftermath of the release of the McDonald video. Racism and maltreatment at the hands of the police have been consistent complaints from communities of color for decades,” the report states.
“False arrests, coerced confessions and wrongful convictions are also a part of this history. Lives lost and countless more damaged. These events and others mark a long, sad history of death, false imprisonment, physical and verbal abuse and general discontent about police actions in neighborhoods of color.”
Emanuel spokeswoman Kelley Quinn said the mayor would review the final report in the coming days. Quinn noted the city had been cooperating with a federal review of the department.
After appearing at a confirmation hearing before a City Council committee Tuesday, interim police Supt. Eddie Johnson would not say whether the department should acknowledge its history of racial disparity.
“I haven’t had the chance to review the report,” he said, “but I do welcome the recommendations, and I will take a hard look at all of them.”
Emanuel had said the task force would examine whether changes should be made to improve the Independent Police Review Authority, but the report calls for the body to be eliminated and replaced with a civilian review board.