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The issue came to light in June after the Chicago Sun-Times
reported allegations that an unspecified number of officers had
engaged in sexual misconduct with the undocumented migrants.
On Tuesday, COPA provided an update on the investigation. COPA
Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten said while no migrant has
come forward, the investigation is far from over.
"I'm not going to be rushed in the investigation of this
process," Kersten said. "I want to ensure we've done every bit
of due diligence to provide as much outreach, as much
information and as much education to that very vulnerable
community to make sure that we've done all we can to ensure
people have a feeling of individual safety."
The Chicago Police Department union denied any wrongdoing by its
officers. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 President John
Catanzara discussed the allegations earlier this month on the
lodges' YouTube page and said the claims have no truth to them.
"There is no validity to the complaint. There is no basis or
origin of where it originated from. We don't have a victim's
name or victims at this point," Catanzara said. "Who knows if it
is even true."
Catanzara said the allegations could possibly be a result of the
SAFE-T Act, the controversial criminal justice reform measure
that among other things allows anonymous complaints against
police.
There could be an anti-police group that planted the
allegations, Catanzara speculated.
"Who knows where this complaint even originated from," he said.
"But to think there is not police-hating groups that would go to
any length to start this type of nonsense because they know the
media will pick it up because it is such a sensationalized
story, your head is in the sand."
The COPA investigation continues.
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