This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/13/us/chicago-police-justice-department-report.html

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 4 Version 5
Chicago Police Routinely Trampled on Civil Rights, Justice Dept. Says Chicago Police Routinely Trampled on Civil Rights, Justice Dept. Says
(about 7 hours later)
CHICAGO — The Chicago police have systematically violated the civil rights of residents by routinely using excessive force, a practice that particularly affects African-Americans and Latinos, the Justice Department said in a scathing report released on Friday, unveiling the findings of a 13-month investigation into the city’s police department. CHICAGO — A blistering report by the Justice Department described far-reaching failures throughout the Chicago Police Department, saying excessive force was rampant, rarely challenged and chiefly aimed at African-Americans and Latinos.
The report, coming in the wake of the city’s highest murder rate in 20 years, laid out in chilling detail incidents in which police officers used unnecessary force against residents, including children. The report, unveiled on Friday after a 13-month investigation, forced a public reckoning for a police department with a legacy of corruption and abuse. It came as the department grapples with skyrocketing violence in Chicago, where murders are at a 20-year high, and a deep lack of trust among the city’s residents.
Among the findings: Over 161 pages, the investigation laid out, in chilling detail, unchecked aggressions: an officer pointing a gun at teenagers on bicycles suspected of trespassing; officers using a Taser on an unarmed, naked 65-year-old woman with mental illness; officers purposely dropping off young gang members in rival territory.
■ Officers often engaged in dangerous foot chases that often ended with “officers unreasonably shooting someone — including unarmed individuals.” The department’s missteps go well beyond the officers on patrol, the report said. After officers used excessive force, their actions were practically condoned by supervisors, who rarely question their behavior. One commander interviewed by the Justice Department said that he could not recall ever suggesting that officers’ use of force be investigated further.
■ Gang members were taken to a rival gang’s neighborhood as way of scaring them into providing information. The investigation is the latest of a police department by the Justice Department, which had rushed to complete its findings in both Chicago and Baltimore before the expiration of President Obama’s term. The administration has made expansive use of investigations amid a wrenching national debate over race and policing. Chicago is among nearly two dozen cities — including Cleveland; Ferguson, Mo.; and Seattle — where the Justice Department has pushed for wholesale changes to police practices.
■ Tasers were used against people who posed no threat. But under the administration of President-elect Donald J. Trump, the enforcement of the Justice Department’s agreement with Chicago officials is uncertain. Mr. Trump’s attorney general nominee, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, has said he believes the Obama administration’s tactics have gone too far and unfairly maligned officers. He has also spoken against the court-enforced settlements, known as consent decrees, that usually result from investigations like the one in Chicago.
■ Morale was low throughout the department and officers felt abandoned by the public and the city. With its report, the Justice Department put the city’s problems on the record and set in motion negotiations on a consent decree, a process that the new administration could embrace or abandon.
■ The city did not adequately review use of force incidents to determine if they were necessary. Mayor Rahm Emanuel said that city officials were committed to correcting the faults found by investigators and would pursue a consent decree regardless of who is leading the Justice Department.
In some cases, officers reported that they used force, like punches, to restrain suspects; video evidence reviewed by investigators frequently contradicted the officers’ accounts. “We’re going to negotiate,” Mr. Emanuel said. “I can’t negotiate, assuming Jeff Sessions gets confirmed, I can’t negotiate for him. But we’re going to be at the table.”
“We found that officers shoot at vehicles without justification and in contradiction to C.P.D. policy,” the report said. “We found further that officers exhibit poor discipline when discharging their weapons and engage in tactics that endanger themselves and public safety, including failing to await backup when they safely could and should; using unsound tactics in approaching vehicles; and using their own vehicles in a manner that is dangerous.” Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch presented the report at the federal courthouse in downtown Chicago, alongside Mr. Emanuel, who laid out the steps the city had committed to take to remedy the problems, and Zachary T. Fardon, the United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
One officer, receiving a call from a resident that teenagers were trespassing on his property, found them riding their bicycles, the report said. He “pointed his gun at them, used profanity, and threatened to put their heads through a wall and to blow up their homes,” it said. “The boys claim that the officer forced them to kneel and lie facedown, handcuffed together, leaving visible injuries on their knees and wrists.” The officer did not report the use of force; he received a five-day suspension but was not interviewed about the episode. Ms. Lynch said the Justice Department had reviewed thousands of documents, conducted extensive interviews, and discovered widespread evidence that the Police Department was sorely in need of reform. It does not train officers properly, fails to properly collect and analyze data, and has little support from the community, the report said.
Speaking at a news conference, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said put some of the blame for the problems on “severely deficient training procedures” and “accountability systems.” “The systems and policies that fail ordinary citizens also fail the vast majority of Chicago Police Department officers who risk their lives every day to serve and protect the people of Chicago,” Ms. Lynch said.
“The systems and policies that fail ordinary citizens also fail the vast majority of Chicago Police Department officers who risk their lives every day to serve and protect the people of Chicago,” said Ms. Lynch, who had raced to complete the investigation before the end of President Obama’s term. Mr. Emanuel acknowledged there had already been decades of complaints and past pledges for change, but he called the report “a moment of truth for the city.”
The Obama administration has made expansive use of Justice Department investigations amid a wrenching national debate over race and policing. Chicago is among nearly two dozen cities — including Baltimore; Ferguson, Mo.; Seattle; and Cleveland — where the Justice Department has pushed for wholesale changes in policing. “It’s right to say, with a slightly skeptical eye, ‘What makes us believe you’re going to be sincere in following through,’” Mr. Emanuel said, adding that changes to police procedures over the last year should reassure residents of his intentions. He promised to act locally and work with federal officials in the months ahead.
By negotiating an agreement with Chicago to fix the problems, the Justice Department has laid the groundwork for change regardless of what happens under President Donald J. Trump. Mr. Trump’s attorney general nominee, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, has said he believes that many of the police department overhauls sought by the Obama administration went too far and unfairly maligned officers. He has also spoken out against the court-enforced settlements, known as consent decrees, that usually result from investigations like the one in Chicago. “There’s a difference between holding people accountable and being cynical,” said Mr. Emanuel, who in his second term as mayor has been battered by criticism over Chicago’s rising violence and mistrusted Police Department. By proceeding with an overhaul of policing, Mr. Emanuel may buy himself some maneuvering room to argue he is bringing the problem under control.
With the statement announced on Friday, the Justice Department has put the city’s problems on the record and set in motion a process — albeit one that may be less easy to enforce — for change, even if the Trump administration does not seek a consent decree with Chicago. The report described a broad lack of oversight within the department. In some cases, officers reported that they had used force such as punching in order to restrain combative suspects but video evidence reviewed by investigators frequently showed officers’ use of force was unnecessary.
Ms. Lynch said the negotiations would go forward “regardless of who sits atop the Justice Department,” a statement echoed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who said the city was committed to correcting the problems regardless of who is in the White House or leading the Justice Department. “We found that officers engage in tactically unsound and unnecessary foot pursuits, and that these foot pursuits too often end with officers unreasonably shooting someone — including unarmed individuals,” the report said. “We found that officers shoot at vehicles without justification and in contradiction to C.P.D. policy. We found further that officers exhibit poor discipline when discharging their weapons and engage in tactics that endanger themselves and public safety, including failing to await backup when they safely could and should; using unsound tactics in approaching vehicles; and using their own vehicles in a manner that is dangerous.”
Mr. Emanuel, midway through his second term, has been dogged by the dual problems of police misconduct and violent crime. He has long faced skepticism, and at times stiff opposition, from minority residents, and he is likely to face a serious challenge if he seeks a third term in 2019. Chicago’s police superintendent, Eddie Johnson, said that some findings were “difficult to read,” and that he wanted to expand training and mentoring for officers. “While I’m optimistic and hopeful about the direction that we’re heading in,” Mr. Johnson said, “I’m realistic about the fact that there is much, much, much more work that needs to be done.”
By proceeding with an overhaul of policing, backed by the Obama Justice Department, Mr. Emanuel may buy himself some time and maneuvering room to argue he is bringing the problem under control. A former chief of staff to Mr. Obama, Mr. Emanuel has often highlighted his relationship with the first black president to woo voters on the city level. Leaders of the union that represents rank-and-file officers questioned the timing of the report and the speed with which the investigation was conducted.
But the agreement between city and federal officials could also resonate nationally: Mr. Trump has often criticized Chicago for its violent crime rate, holding it up as proof of the need for more aggressive police tactics. “Chicago murder rate is record setting — 4,331 shooting victims with 762 murders in 2016,” Mr. Trump said on Twitter this month. “If Mayor can’t do it he must ask for federal help!” “What also remains to be seen is whether or not the report might be considered compromised, or incomplete as a result of rushing to get it out before the presidential inauguration,” the union said in a statement.
Chicago’s police superintendent, Eddie Johnson, said that some of the findings were “difficult to read,” and that he wanted to expand training and mentoring for officers. “While I’m optimistic and hopeful about the direction that we’re heading in,” Mr. Johnson said, “I’m realistic about the fact that there is much, much, much more work that needs to be done.” Several activists said the findings were unsurprising, but welcome. They urged sweeping reforms to the Police Department, but expressed little confidence that they would take place.
Chicago’s announcement came only a day after the Justice Department and city leaders in Baltimore announced an agreement that called for greater oversight of the police department there, as well as improved training and safety technology. “The decision that D.O.J. made today, I said it a long time ago: That the system is corrupt,” said Dorothy Holmes, whose son was killed by a Chicago officer in 2014. “We want accountability. We want these officers charged as criminals, as they would charge one of us with something.”
Chicago officials have been bracing for the findings after more than a year of tense public debate about the police and their long, troubled history of community relations, particularly with African-American and Latino residents. Announced in December 2015, the investigation came in a year of cascading violence for the city. . In 2016, there were 762 criminal homicides in Chicago, more than New York City and Los Angeles combined. Chicago officials have been bracing for the findings after more than a year of tense public debate about the Police Department and its long, troubled history of community relations, particularly with African-American and Latino residents. Announced in December 2015, the investigation began in a year of cascading violence for the city. In 2016, there were 762 criminal homicides in Chicago, more than New York City and Los Angeles combined.
The inquiry was spurred by the city’s reluctant release of a chilling video that showed a white police officer shooting a young black man, Laquan McDonald, 16 times. For months, the city had fought to keep the dashboard camera footage from being made public, but a judge ultimately ordered its released. Residents were outraged by the images, some marching in protest and demanding that Mr. Emanuel resign. The inquiry was spurred by the city’s reluctant release of a chilling video that showed a white police officer shooting a young black man, Laquan McDonald, 16 times. For months, the city fought to keep the dashboard camera footage from being made public, but a judge ultimately ordered its release. Residents were outraged by the images, and some marched in protest and demanded that Mr. Emanuel resign.
Long before the Justice Department’s findings, the critiques of the Chicago police were stark. Two years ago, the city announced reparations and an apology to black men who had for years said they were tortured and abused at the hands of a “Midnight Crew” of officers overseen by a notorious police commander in the 1970s and 1980s. Last year, a task force appointed by Mr. Emanuel issued a blistering report that concluded that racism had contributed to a long pattern of institutional failures by the police. Long before the latest findings, the critiques of the Chicago police were stark. Two years ago, the city announced reparations and an apology to black men who had said they were tortured and abused in the 1970s and 1980s at the hands of a “Midnight Crew” of officers overseen by a notorious police commander. Last year, a task force appointed by Mr. Emanuel issued a scathing report that concluded that racism had contributed to a long pattern of institutional failures by the police.
“C.P.D.’s own data gives validity to the widely held belief the police have no regard for the sanctity of life when it comes to people of color,” the task force wrote. “Stopped without justification, verbally and physically abused, and in some instances arrested, and then detained without counsel — that is what we heard about over and over again.” City officials said that they were already making substantive changes — separate from whatever the Justice Department would announce. Mr. Emanuel’s aides pointed to changes the mayor has called for in improved officer training and equipment. All Chicago patrol officers are to have body cameras by the end of 2017.
As Chicago awaited the Justice Department’s announcement, city officials said that they were already making substantive changes at the department. Mr. Emanuel’s aides pointed to changes the mayor has called for in improved training and equipment. All Chicago patrol officers are to have body cameras by the end of 2017. But police shootings have persisted, and some say changes have not come fast enough.
But controversial police shootings have persisted, and some say the mayor’s changes have not come fast enough. Just weeks after the Justice Department began its investigation, an officer shot and killed two people: a teenager said to be wielding a bat, and an elderly neighbor hit by a stray bullet. That officer later sued the estate of the teenager he killed, claiming emotional trauma. Just weeks after the Justice Department began its investigation, an officer shot and killed two people: a teenager said to be wielding a bat, and an elderly neighbor hit by a stray bullet. That officer later sued the estate of the teenager he killed, claiming emotional trauma. Last summer, another officer fatally shot an unarmed teenager in the back as he was running away.
Last summer, another officer fatally shot an unarmed teenager in the back as he was running away. Lori E. Lightfoot, president of the Chicago Police Board, said “I don’t think that the pressure will be off” when Mr. Trump takes office because of local activism on police issues.
Ms. Lightfoot, who chaired the mayoral task force that released the report released last year, said she was encouraged by Mr. Emanuel’s remarks on Friday but wanted concrete actions from him in the weeks ahead.
“We are going to demand that the reforms happen,” she said.