Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Is Chicago's police force becoming a liability in the city's bid for the 2016 Olympic Games? Amnesty International has claimed the city is unfit to host the 2016 Summer Games because of a sweeping pattern of police abuse.

On Thursday, as Chicago celebrated the newest USOC Hall of Fame members, Chicago's Olympic dreams were being questioned by activists upset about alleged incidents of police brutality, some of them targeting Chicago's gays and lesbians.

Thursday night, gay and lesbian activists and other civil rights groups met at the Broadway United Methodist Church to map strategy to put pressure on the mayor and the police department to improve police accountability.

Between 2001 and 2005, police abuse cases have forced the city to pay out $100 million to settle those cases out of court. Activists said Chicago is not living up to its reputation as an international city, a perfect fit for the Olympics.

Amnesty International's Ariel Herrera said, "If you're going to invite hundreds of thousands of people to the city, you have to insure their safety and we're asking the city 'can you insure their safety?'"

Herrera is National Director of Gay and Lesbian issues for Amnesty International. His threat to air what he considers Chicago's problems on the international stage has been made before.

Rev. Al Sharpton said in December that "the Olympics can be a point of leverage for people in this city that have not been able to get direct action by the city fathers."

At the time, Mayor Daley – whose appointment of FBI veteran Jody Weis as superintendent was viewed as an attempt to restore confidence in the department – downplayed the impact of the protest.

"The Olympic movement is separate from any personal political problems that anyone may have. China has the Olympics. Is anyone questioning China?" Daley said at the time.

Earlier this month in Athens, Chicago made the IOC's shortlist for the 2016 Summer Olympics. But whether it's police brutality or the epidemic of violence on the South Side, or even questions about the paramedic response during the 2007 Chicago Marathon, critics have been using the Olympic bid to leverage their demands.

At a news conference at City Hall on Thursday, Amnesty International spokesman Robert Schultz said, "a global city means certain responsibilities and obligations, and one of them is the rule of law."

The group said gays and lesbians are often targeted by police. One case in point: the 2006 beating of Alexander Ruppert.

In an exclusive CBS 2 interview, he told us that two Chicago police officers broke his nose and caused injuries that required 16 stitches. Ruppert said the two beat him after using anti-gay slurs.

Ruppert said, "They were very belligerent, very vulgar … I just remember my face being cut open and blood all over and I said, 'I have AIDS and I need medical attention.'"

Ruppert's attorney Jon Erickson said, "It was only when he told these officers that he had AIDS that these officers stopped this brutal attack."

The activists said they're prepared to take their case to the International Olympic Committee.

Herrera said, "We want to make sure that complaints are vigorously and impartially investigated; that any officers found guilty should be disciplined or criminally prosecuted."

The two officers who allegedly attacked Ruppert have not been disciplined, at least not yet, and were still on the force as of Thursday. But they were facing a pending federal lawsuit.

The Chicago 2016 Committee – which is working to bring the games here – declined to comment on the activists' claims. The Chicago Police Department also declined comment.

The fact is all the Olympic hopefuls have their issues and the decision on who gets to host the 2016 Summer Games is more likely to be based on global, rather than local politics.

CBS 2's Jay Levine and Mike Parker contributed to this report.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Editor's Picks

• Gay Celebrities
• Did You Know? Stars From Chicago!
• Celebs Who Lean To The Right
• Real Or Fake?