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Nov 29, 2007 10:35 pm US/Central
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Daley Reaches Outside City For New Top Cop
Jody Weis Is Special Agent In Philadelphia, Former Chicago FBI Agent
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
The last time an outsider was named to run the Chicago police was 1960, when the department scarred by scandal under a mayor named Richard J. Daley.
Mayor Richard M. Daley Thursday took a page from his father's management manual by bringing in an outsider to shake up the Chicago police. J.P. "Jody" Weis, is a 22-year veteran of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He comes to Chicago from Philadelphia. He's back in the Windy City after working as assistant special agent in charge of the Chicago field office from 2000 to 2003.
"I have a fresh set of eyes," the superintendent-elect said. "I've got different ideas."
"The one thing I'm proud of at the FBI is, although we're not perfect, we do have a pretty good reputation of policing ourselves," Weis said.
And that may be one of the biggest reasons Daley chose the 49-year-old Weis, the head of Philadelphia's FBI office, to lead Chicago's scandal-plagued police.
Six officers of the now-disbanded Special Operations Section face criminal charges. And two videotaped bar beatings have drawn worldwide scorn. One of the beatings caught on videotape allegedly showed Officer Anthony Abbate, 38, a 12-year veteran of the Lincoln Police District, punching and kicking bartender Karolina Obrycka, 24, at a Northwest Side tavern while off duty on Feb.19. Abbate is facing felony aggravated battery charges in the attack, which was caught on an overhead security camera.
Less than a week later, four businessmen alleged that in December, they were beaten by six off-duty officers at a Near West Side bar. One of them required facial reconstructive surgery, attorneys for the men alleged. Three officers have been charged in that incident.
"That's horrific. That's absolutely horrific, we cannot tolerate that stuff," Weis said.
Weis will have to restore the public's trust after the scandals that have plagued the department.
Daley named interim superintendent Dana Starks as the new, full-time head of the Human Relations Commission. Daley said a search for top-notch quality led him to look outside the city for a new top cop.
"I saw fit to get the best possible candidate, regardless of where they came from," Daley said. "That was my vision."
Weis would not only oversee the city's 13,400 sworn officers and the 5,000 people in civilian positions, but also fill the vacant job of Chief Emergency Officer for the Office of Emergency Management and Communications. While wearing two hats, Weis would be paid $300,000 a year.
The president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police says it was quite a surprise the mayor went outside the department for his choice for top cop.
"There are qualified, confident individuals from within the department that could have filled that position and it would have probably sent a stronger message to the members of the department, of his confidence," FOP President Mark Donahue said.
While Donahue says he's looking forward to working with Weis, he added," The rank and file would probably, would feel, more comfortable in working for someone who's come up through the ranks, that understands the difficulty of the job they perform everyday."
"I do think I have enough years in law enforcement, and I don't make any pretense to be a police officer. I do not do the things police officers have done. I admire them so much," Weis said.
But longtime critics of police abuse believe the mayor sent a strong message.
"The fact that he comes from the outside means he doesn't carry with him the baggage and corruption that has dogged this police department for so long," said Locke Bowman of the McArthur Justice Center.
Weis promised a thorough review of police command personnel and promised to lead the fight against police abuse.
"You stop it with stern leadership. I have to set the tone right from the beginning that that type of behavior won't be tolerated," Weis said. "And I've got to put that through all the command staff. I've got to pick a command staff that won't allow that type of behavior."
In appointing Weis, Daley said police needed to focus both on vigilance in fighting crime and ensuring they maintain the trust of the public.
"We're gong to do all we can to lower crime in Chicago," the mayor said. "But the people must have confidence that the police are doing their job."
He said officers need to know that "allegations of misconduct will be investigated fairly and responsibly." That was the purpose of creating the new Office of Professional Standards, which is now called the Independent Police Review Board and is under the oversight of the mayor's office instead of the Police Department, Daley said.
"Jody Weis is uniquely qualified to both implement his strategies in our fight against crime and assure the conduct of police officers," Daley said, noting Weis' achievements as an FBI agent.
Weis said he has been in the military and law enforcement for his entire adult life, and understood the issues confronting the Chicago Police Department well. At the news conference on his appointment, Weis said discussed the need to combat gangs, guns and drugs in many neighborhoods in the city, but also noted that some officers had breached the public's trust, and, "people's confidence in the department needs to be rebuilt."
Weis' nomination must be approved by city council. He wouldn't start his new job, until January 16.
Weis has also worked in Houston, Phoenix and Los Angeles.
CBS 2's Derrick Blakley, Suzanne Le Mignot and Joanie Lum contributed to this report.cbs2chicago.com's Most Popular Pages
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