Recommendations for Reform: Restoring Trust between the Chicago Police and the Communities they Serve REPORT April 2016 Police Accountability Task Force | 1 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ...........................................................................................................................................iv Glossary of Terms ...............................................................................................................................................v Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................1 The Tipping Point................................................................................................................................................... 2 The Work of the Police Accountability Task Force............................................................................................. 4 Community Engagement ...................................................................................................................................... 5 How did we get to this point? Some Overarching Findings.............................................................................. 6 Other Key Findings By Working Group ............................................................................................................. 13 Recommendations............................................................................................................................................... 17 How We Propose to Empower People. ............................................................................................................. 17 How We Propose to Address the Inadequate Emphasis on Accountability................................................. 18 How We Propose to Address Other Systemic and Longstanding Problems................................................ 19 Next Steps............................................................................................................................................................. 19 Is Real Reform Possible? ..................................................................................................................................... 20 Context...............................................................................................................................................................22 U.S. Department of Justice Investigation .......................................................................................................... 22 Prior Task Forces.................................................................................................................................................. 23 National & Local Conversation on Policing....................................................................................................... 25 Broader Challenges Facing Chicago .................................................................................................................. 26 Basic Facts About CPD’s Structure..................................................................................................................... 27 Community-Police Relations ...........................................................................................................................32 How have CPD’s actions created mistrust in communities of color?............................................................ 32 Is CPD doing enough to combat racial bias? .................................................................................................... 43 How should CPD involve the community in its policing efforts? ................................................................... 51 Are CPD officers adequately equipped to interact with youth?..................................................................... 54 Is CPD doing enough to protect human and civil rights? ............................................................................... 56 Legal Oversight & Accountability ....................................................................................................................63 How does the existing police oversight system work? ................................................................................... 64 Why does the community not have a role in the police oversight system?................................................. 68 What are the barriers to identifying police misconduct? The Code of Silence and beyond. ..................... 69 Why are investigations ineffective and biased?............................................................................................... 77 Why is it so hard to impose discipline on an officer?...................................................................................... 84 Why aren’t the police held accountable through the courts and other systems?....................................... 89 Early Intervention & Personnel Concerns ......................................................................................................96 Why does CPD lack a culture of accountability when it comes to the internal management of its police officers?................................................................................................................................................................. 96 What are the current internal mechanisms for holding CPD’s officers accountable for their conduct?.. 99 Why are these current CPD accountability systems ineffective?................................................................. 101 What is the right tool for CPD to use to hold police officers and their supervisors accountable on a range of issues, including use of force and respectful interactions with citizens? ................................... 105 De-Escalation...................................................................................................................................................115 Why are so few 911 calls to OEMC identified as mental health-related? ................................................... 117 What is CPD’s current approach to mental health crisis response? Don’t they have a Crisis Intervention Team Program? Why isn’t it working? ............................................................................................................. 120 Why aren’t all identified mental health crisis calls getting a CIT response?............................................... 121 Why are so many people with mental illnesses having repeat contacts with CPD and ending up in the criminal justice system? .................................................................................................................................... 123 Why are we only treating people after they are in crisis?............................................................................. 126 How are police escalating trauma, including at crime scenes? ................................................................... 127 Video Release Policy .......................................................................................................................................131 Why does the City not immediately release all video, audio and police reports on every police shooting or death in custody? .......................................................................................................................................... 131 Overarching Issues .........................................................................................................................................137 Does CPD’s training need significant overhaul?............................................................................................. 137 Are there enough Sergeants to effectively supervise the large number of patrol officers? .................... 140 Why aren’t all CPD officers already wearing body cameras? ....................................................................... 141 Disclaimer........................................................................................................................................................143 Police Accountability Task Force | ii Appendix 1.......................................................................................................................................................144 Police Accountability Task Force Members .................................................................................................... 144 Appendix 2.......................................................................................................................................................145 Police Accountability Task Force Working Group Members ........................................................................ 145 Appendix 3.......................................................................................................................................................148 Police Accountability Task Force Interviews................................................................................................... 148 Appendix 4.......................................................................................................................................................153 Community Relations Working Group Checklist............................................................................................ 153 Appendix 5.......................................................................................................................................................155