Yesterday's Sun-Times carried an uplifting item about the falling number of complaints filed by citizens against Chicago Police officers.
The piece quoted Superintendent Jody Weis extensively, noting his excitement over the new figures: “The days of this code of silence — it’s gone,” Weis told the S-T.
But the police press release, and the Sun-Times story, fail to mention some less cheery stats. Read more...
When the Chicago City Council created an independent agency in 2007 to review officer-involved shootings and allegations of misconduct, aldermen called the move a powerful way to reform the Police Department.
Now, a law firm that has won several large judgments in brutality cases is targeting the Independent Police Review Authority, accusing the agency of stalling a brutality case and concealing the names of the officers involved.
"They keep saying they are legit, but their actions say otherwise," says Jon Loevy, of the law firm Loevy & Loevy. "Whenever the police do something wrong, they refuse to close the investigation. It's hard not to see IPRA as just another cog in the machine." Read more...
