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COPA Q1 2020 Quarterly Report

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COPA Q1 2020 Quarterly Report COPA First Quarter Report For the Period January 1, 2020 through March 31, 2020 Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary ................................................................... 1 2. Operational Updates .................................................................. 5 2.1 Community Engagement ......................................................... 5 3. Data Analysis ............................................................................. 8 3.1 Methodology .......................................................................... 8 3.2 Intake–Complaints and Notifications Received ................... 9 3.2.1 Method of Complaint Intake ........................................... 11 3.3 Intake By District .................................................................... 13 3.4 Intake–Complaints and Notifications Retained .................... 15 3.4.1 Complaints ...................................................................... 15 3.4.2 Notifications .................................................................... 17 3.4.3 Officer Involved Shootings ........................................... 18 3.4.4 Affidavits ......................................................................... 20 3.5 Pending Investigations .......................................................... 21 3.6 Concluded Investigations ...................................................... 22 i 3.6.1 Investigations Concluded With Finding ........................ 22 3.6.2 Investigations Concluded Without Finding................... 24 3.6.3 Length of Investigation................................................... 27 3.6.4 Concluded Investigations by Category ......................... 29 3.6.5 Recommended Discipline .............................................. 30 4. Additional Data Reporting ........................................................ 31 4.1 Transparency Efforts ............................................................. 31 4.2 Referrals .................................................................................. 32 5. Complaints Filed Per Member .................................................. 33 ii 1. Executive Summary The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) is responsible for receiving all complaints of police misconduct involving the Chicago Police Department (Department) and its members, and investigating complaints involving: • Excessive Force; • Domestic Violence; • Coercion; • Verbal Abuse; • Unlawful Search and/or Seizure; and • Unlawful Denial of Counsel. COPA also receives notifications of and investigates certain types of incidents including: • All officer-involved firearm discharges; • All officer-involved deaths; • Custodial deaths; • Taser discharges resulting in serious injury or death; and • Any incident involving an officer that results in serious bodily injury or death. The mission of COPA is to: • Provide a just and efficient means to fairly and timely conduct investigations within our jurisdiction; • Determine whether allegations of police misconduct are well-founded; • Identify and address patterns of police misconduct; and Page 1 of 38 • Make policy recommendations to improve the Department, thereby reducing incidents of police misconduct. COPA is required to provide quarterly and annual updates on its performance. This report provides information concerning operations and summary statistical data on investigative work from January 1, 2020 through March 31, 2020. To learn more, please visit www.chicagocopa.org. Highlights from the 1st Quarter of 2020 (Q1) include the following. Page numbers are provided to assist the reader in finding the chart or table that corresponds to the data highlighted below. • Operational Updates COPA’s community engagement program continues to expand its outreach efforts, support, and information to impacted parties and Department members. (Page 5) • IPRA Legacy Cases Since Q4 2018, COPA has mounted a concerted effort to complete investigations inherited from its predecessor agency that were open at the launch of COPA in September 2017. On inauguration day, COPA inherited nearly 950 open cases. At the conclusion of Q1 2020, only 37 legacy cases remained under investigation. • Intake COPA received 1421 complaints and notifications in Q1 2020. (Page 10) COPA retained 510 complaints and 27 incident notifications for investigation in Q1. (Page 10) COPA received 650 allegations of Improper Search/Seizure in Q1. This category continues to represent the largest percentage of the complaint allegations retained for investigation (65%). (Page 16) Page 2 of 38 The police district with the highest combined number of Citizen Complaints and Incident Notifications in Q1 was D-6 (Gresham) with 101. (Page 34) District 6 consistently is among those with the highest number of complaints retained for investigation, 42 in Q1. (Pages 13, 14) • Pending Investigations As of the end of March 31, 2020 (Q1), COPA had 1563 misconduct complaints under investigation. At the end of Q4 2019 there were 1544. (Page 21) • Concluded Investigations In Q1, COPA concluded 549 investigations With Finding and Without Finding. (Pages 22-26) For the period, COPA concluded 234 investigations in less than six months. These 234 investigations represented 43% of COPA’s 549 concluded cases for the quarter. (Pages 27-28) Moreover, in Q1, 85% of COPA’s investigations were concluded in 1 year or less. (Pages 27-28) In Q1, COPA concluded 55% more investigations (83) aged between 6-12 months than in Q4 2019. (Pages 27-28) COPA concluded 128 investigations With Findings in Q1, representing a 17% increase over Q4 2019 (109). (Pages 22-26) Of the 421 cases concluded in Q1 Without Finding, 33% (138) were Administratively Closed for one of the following reasons: failure to allege misconduct, did not involve a Department member, were Officer Involved Shooting cases deemed within policy, or were duplicates. (Page 26) 249 cases were closed in Q1 for lack of sufficient independent evidence to meet the standard for an affidavit override, representing 60% of the 421 cases closed without a finding. (Page 26) Page 3 of 38 • Disciplinary Recommendations In Q1 2020 COPA recommended: (Pages 30, 31) • Separation in 3 investigations; • Suspension of more than 30 days in 4 investigations; • Suspension of less than 30 days in 23 investigations; and • Reprimand or Violation Noted in 6 investigations. Sincerely, Sydney R. Roberts, Chief Administrator (This space intentionally left blank.) Page 4 of 38 2. Operational Updates 2.1 Community Engagement COPA’s engagement mission to involve, educate, and inform the public and Department members remained at the core of its efforts as we began the new year. The need to help heal the divide between civilians and police by helping each build trust in and respect for the other is intertwined with our efforts to engage the many stakeholders and share the core values of our agency and impress the importance of civilian oversight to all involved parties. Law Enforcement COPA continued to engage law enforcement officers and recruits in its continuing effort to build trust. COPA presentations covered its investigation process, standards for integrity and objectivity, thoroughness of investigations, and what CPD members can expect from COPA. Agency Public Affairs team members, Supervising Investigators, and Major Case Specialists attend these sessions to provide information and answer questions. In Q1 COPA met with nearly 60 Chicago Police Department recruits. As the administrative agency charged with the duty to investigate allegations of serious police misconduct, such as Officer Involved Shootings, it is crucial that members of the Department trust our investigative process. COPA Expands on Partnership with DFSS COPA began the year by building on its partnership with the Chicago Department of Family & Support Services (DFSS) Community Service Centers, which serve children, domestic violence victims, the homeless, veterans, and youths in need. During Q1 COPA staff visited the DFSS locations listed below. Public Affairs staff provided residents with the opportunity to file complaints against or compliments for members of the Chicago Police Department. COPA Public Affairs staff also were in attendance to answer questions related to the agency and the investigative process. Page 5 of 38 Department of Family & Supportive Services Locations - Q1 2020 January 3rd & 21st, February 11th: Englewood Center: 1140 W. 79th St. February 21st: Garfield Center: 10 S. Kedzie Ave. February 4th: King Center: 4314 S. Cottage Grove Ave. February 28th: North Avenue Center: 845 W. Wilson Ave. January 7th, February 7th, March 13th: South Chicago Center: 8650 S. Commercial Ave. January 17, 2020: Trina Davila Center: 4312 W. North Ave. In addition to working with DFSS Community Service Centers, COPA expanded on its partnership to include outreach to youth through One Summer Chicago, a DFSS youth program that brings together government institutions, community- based organizations, and companies to offer more than 30,000 employment and internship opportunities to youths and young adults ages 14 to 24 years. COPA will work with youths who are employed through One Summer Chicago to introduce the importance of civilian oversight and police accountability. During these engagements COPA staff shares information concerning legal concepts such as reaching conclusions based upon the totality of circumstances; understanding objective reasonableness and proportionality, the concept of “necessity” when using force, and
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