When video cameras captured Chicago Police Officer William Cozzi pummeling a wheelchair-bound hospital patient with a sap, it seemed a sure thing that the cop would lose his job.
But the members of Chicago’s Police Board, which reviews the police superintendent’s decision to fire officers, saw the case otherwise.
The board elected to suspend Cozzi for two years. Read more...
Advocates of a new ordinance that would require more transparency in police disciplinary decisions received a tepid response and some tough questioning this morning from members of City Council's Police and Fire Committee.
Serious disciplinary decisions are made by the Chicago Police Board, a nine-person quasi-judicial body whose members are appointed by the mayor.
The ordinance is a response to a recent study by the Chicago Justice Project. It found that board members regularly miss meetings, that the board overrides the police superintendent's request to fire officers in most cases, and that decisions are made with little or no public explanation. Read more...
