 In particular, Attorney General Lisa Madigan wants the department’s Civil Rights
Division to look into:
— The Chicago Police Department’s use of force, including deadly force;
— The adequacy of CPD’s review and investigation of officers’ use of force and
its investigations into allegations of police misconduct;
— CPD’s training, equipment and supervision of its officers;
— Whether there is a pattern or practice of discriminatory policing.
In her letter sent Tuesday to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Madigan
writes,”The shocking death of Laquan McDonald is the latest tragedy in our city
that highlights serious questions about the use of unlawful and excessive force
by Chicago police officers and the lack of accountability for such abuse.”
“Trust in the Chicago Police Department is broken,” Madigan wrote. “Chicago
cannot move ahead and rebuild trust between the police and the community without
an outside, independent investigation into its police department to improve
policing practices.”
Madigan cites five other high-profile cases of questionable use of deadly force
instances or misconduct that took place over the last five years. Additionally,
she raises questions about Chicago’s investigations into allegations of police
misconduct, noting:
— The city’s Independent Police Review Authority has investigated nearly 400
shootings since 2007 and found only one shooting to be unjustified.
— Even after IPRA review, the city’s police superintendent and police board
determine whether an officer is disciplined. Citing the Citizens Police Data
Project, Madigan says that from 2011 to 2015, 97 percent of more than 28,500
citizen complaints resulted in no officer being punished.
— The same data shows that over the past five years, white complainants were
almost seven times more likely to have their police misconduct complaints
sustained than African-Americans, even though African-Americans filed three
times more complaints against police officers.
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 In a statement to the media, Madigan said she knows “the vast
majority of officers in the Chicago Police Department serve with
bravery, honor and integrity.”
Still, Madigan said, an investigation by the Justice Department is
appropriate and necessary.
A Department of Justice spokeswoman said the attorney general’s
letter would be reviewed.
Illinois News Network’s request for comment from the Chicago mayor’s
office was not immediately answered.
Madigan’s letter to the Justice Department came on the same day
Chicago’s police superintendent, Garry McCarthy, resigned at the
request of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The mayor on Tuesday also announced
the creation of the city’s own task force on police accountability.
Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke shot and killed 17-year-old
Laquan McDonald in October 2014. Police at first said McDonald was
shot as he came at officers while brandishing a knife.
It took a year and a judge’s order for the city to release dashboard
camera video of the incident, and the video did not appear to
support the original police version of events. It appears to show
McDonald veering away from officers when he was shot 16 times by Van
Dyke, the only officer who fired.
Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder, but only after the
release of the video, which prompted accusations of a coverup and
calls for the resignation of, among others, McCarthy, Emanuel and
Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.
Madigan’s letter requesting an investigation is available
here.
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