Chicago program aims to give public a say in police misconduct cases

[October 12, 2022]  By Andrew Hensel | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – A new program introduced by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot aims to provide mediation of select police misconduct complaints filed with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

The types of complaints to be mediated include allegations of perceived bias in policing, failure to provide appropriate service, unnecessary physical conduct and unprofessionalism.

A 2019 consent decree requires the city to undertake certain reforms, including developing a program for community mediation of complaints.

Lightfoot said this is a step toward compliance with the decree.

"With this community-based mediation program in place, we will be able to foster a better supportive and trustworthy environment for people to not only report police misconduct complaints but have their voices heard and believed," Lightfoot said. "Furthermore, we hope this program will improve the standard for resolving misconduct complaints and move us one step closer toward compliance with the federal Consent Decree requirements."

State Rep. LaShawn Ford, D-Chicago, said he welcomes the change.

"It sets up a whole new system that can hear these complaints," Ford said. "Anytime we can shed more light on police misconduct is good."

Illinois Fraternal Order of Police President Chris Southwood raised questions about how such workers would be trained and how such a program would be funded.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot
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"I have not seen any training or real work put into funding the training and standards board to handle the number of claims that potentially could come in," Southwood told The Center Square.

Southwood also raised concerns about anonymous complaints against police.

"When we didn't have anonymous complaints, we could find those people accountable for false reports," Southwood said. "Now that's out the window. What's going to happen now? I believe we are going to get way too many anonymous claims."

Chicago's pilot program is set to begin on Oct. 1, 2023, and will review select categories of complaints to assess and examine how to implement a police-community mediation program on a larger scale.

After the pilot program closes on March 31, 2023, evaluations will be compiled and reviewed. In addition, officers, community members, and other stakeholders will be engaged to share their feedback on the program, according to city officials.

Andrew Hensel has years of experience as a reporter and pre-game host for the Joliet Slammers, and as a producer for the Windy City Bulls. A graduate of Iowa Wesleyan University and Illinois Media School, Andrew lives in the south suburbs of Chicago.