Nov 6, 2009 4:29 pm US/Central
Police-Misconduct Reviews On Rise
But Superintendent Stresses The System Must Examine Even Cases Without Merit
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
-
-
The Independent Police Review Authority was created more than two years ago to investigate abuse claimes against officers.
CBS
Here's a statistic you don't hear from the Chicago Police Department: More than 1,000 officers had complaints lodged against them in just a three-month period.
That's according to the Independent Police Review Authority. So are these numbers as bad as they sound? CBS 2's Mai Martinez takes a look.
The Independent Police Review Authority, also known as IPRA, was created a little more than two years ago to investigate allegations of police abuse. And in recent months, IPRA has seen its largest jump in complaints since the agency was founded.
In just two years, IPRA has handled more than 20,000 investigations involving Chicago Police officers, but police Superintendent Jody Weis says that's no cause for concern.
"It's an open complaint system, and we record everything, as does IPRA, so it's a number that I think is always going to have a little bit of automated inflation in it," he said.
IPRA Chief Administrator Ilana Rosenzweig also notes the number includes certain incidents that have to be investigated, whether there's a report of abuse or not, such as any time an officer discharges his or her weapon.
Still, IPRA cases of allegations against police officers are on the rise. In just the last quarter, from July to September this year, 812 new cases opened. That's up 16 percent.
"Any allegation that involves excessive force, domestic violence, verbal abuse with bias or coercion -- we will keep and we'll investigate," she said.
In just two years, the number of those cases has surpassed 5,600. About 80 percent to 85 percent of those inquiries are categorized as "excessive force" cases, Rosenzweig said.
That number doesn't surprise attorney Flint Taylor, with the People's Law Office. He's been representing victims in police abuse cases for 40 years, and he says there's an epidemic of police misconduct in Chicago.
"It's in the interest of the police department, as it perceives it, to keep these men on the street," Taylor said. "They feel that the brutality is a necessary byproduct of controlling the communities that they patrol."
It's that type of perception that prompted the city to create IPRA, but Taylor says faith won't be restored in the investigation process until an agency is created without ties to the city or police department.
He said it needs to be "one that is totally independent and that has the power and the money and the resources and the commitment to actually aggressively investigate and prosecute and discipline police officers."
IPRA can only recommend disciplinary action for the officers involved in their cases. That can range from a written reprimand to separation from the force, but the final decision is up to the Chicago Police Department.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Jewish Celebrities
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
