Jul 19, 2007 3:15 pm US/Central
City Council Approves Plan For Police Reform
Mayor Daley's Plan To Place OPS Under His Control Passed 48-0
CBS 2's Mai Martinez and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
The City Council approved Mayor Richard M. Daley's plan to reform the office that handles complaints against police officers Thursday.
As CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports, the move places the police Office of Professional Standards under Mayor Daley's control rather than that of the police superintendent. He hopes the move will end the perception that rogue officers are not held accountable for their actions.
The vote comes after numerous abuse scandals and as aldermen take a closer look at the list of hundreds of officers with at least 10 misconduct complaints against them.
Many aldermen believed Mayor Daley had the votes he needs to pass his ordinance. But some anti-brutality organizations believed the ordinance needs improvements before it becomes a reality.
On Thursday morning, members of the Chicago Coalition for Police Accountability lobbied for amendments to be added to the mayor's ordinance.
The coalition said Daley's ordinance falls short of what is needed because it does not allow for investigation of non-violent coercion by police officers. The coalition also said the review of police conduct should be left up to independent civilians, not the mayor.
Some aldermen support the proposed amendments, but they said they will vote for the mayor's plan in the meantime.
"The main thing about it is with respect to some of these investigations, the bad guys are still on the streets and that's the main thing that the public is concerned about is that hey, there is no justice with respect to this," said Ald. Howard Brookins, Jr. (21st).
Daley proposed the ordinance after a series of highly embarrassing incidents of police misconduct, most notably the case of Officer Anthony Abbate, who was allegedly the man caught on videotape beating a female bartender last February.
Abbate faced criminal charges, and the videotape gained worldwide attention. A short time after its release, police Supt. Philip Cline announced he was stepping down.
Afterward, other allegations of violence or misconduct by police officers were released, including claims by four Near West Side bar patrons that they were beaten by four off-duty Chicago Police officers late last year. That case resulted in charges against four officers, although some have claimed the brawl began when one of the patrons provoked an officer who was upset about a death in his family.
In a third case, another man, Alexander Ruppert, filed a lawsuit claiming that he was beaten by two on-duty officers because he is gay, then charged with aggravated battery against a police officer on allegations that Ruppert injured their knuckles. The charges were later dropped.
On Wednesday, the city gave aldermen its secret list of officer with more than 10 abuse complaints in the last five years, but blocked out the names, claiming union contracts prevent their release. Activists say there are 662 officers on the list.
Still, the 200-page, one-and-half-inch thick document shows the scandal-plagued Special Operations Section drew an inordinate number of complaints.
Ten of those officers drew 408 complaints. Of those, only three were sustained, or found valid, by the Police Office of Professional Standards (OPS). The punishment: one suspension, for 15 days and two reprimands.
On the Second City Cop blog, which is written by Chicago Police officers, some have objected to the release of the list, saying it was not appropriate to expose complaints that are found to be without merit.
Under the plan to release the list, "The mere fact that a complaint was filed means you are guilty, guilty, guilty…. How are we supposed to be disciplined 'meaningfully' if the complaint was without merit in the first place?" a Second City Cop blogger wrote.
Mayor Daley only said Wednesday, abuse complaints had to be individually evaluated.
"We don't want them to commit any abuse whatsoever to anyone in the city of Chicago," he said.
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