Investigation of the Chicago Police Department
United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and United States Attorney’s Office Northern District of Illinois
January 13, 2017
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TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................ 1
CPD ENGAGES IN A PATTERN OR PRACTICE OF UNCONSTITUTIONAL USE OF FORCE ................................................................................................................ 22
CPD Uses Deadly Force in Violation of the Fourth Amendment and Department Policy .............................................................................................................................. 25
CPD Uses Less-Lethal Force in Violation of the Fourth Amendment and Department Policy .......................................................................................................... 32
Video Evidence Suggests a Broader Pattern or Practice of Unconstitutional Use of Force ............................................................................................................................... 36
CPD Does Not Effectively Use Crisis Intervention Techniques to Reduce the Need for Force ......................................................................................................................... 37
CPD’s Failure to Accurately Document and Meaningfully Review Officers’ Use of Force Perpetuates a Pattern of Unreasonable Force ....................................................... 41
CPD’s New De-escalation Training and Proposed Policy Revisions Should be Expanded and Sustained ................................................................................................. 45
CHICAGO’S DEFICIENT ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEMS CONTRIBUTE TO CPD’S PATTERN OR PRACTICE OF UNCONSTITUTIONAL CONDUCT ......... 46
The City Has Put in Place Policies and Practices that Impede the Investigation of Officer Misconduct ......................................................................................................... 50
Investigations Lack Timely Resolutions, Undermining the Quality of Investigations and Credibility of the Process ......................................................................................... 72
CPD and the City Do Not Take Sufficient Steps to Prevent Officers from Deliberately Concealing Misconduct ............................................................................. 74
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The City’s Police Accountability Ordinance and Similar Efforts to Correct the Problems Our Investigation Identified ........................................................................... 92
CPD DOES NOT PROVIDE OFFICERS WITH SUFFICIENT DIRECTION, SUPERVISION, OR SUPPORT TO ENSURE LAWFUL AND EFFECTIVE POLICING ......................................................................................................................... 93
CPD MUST BETTER SUPPORT AND INCENTIVIZE POLICING THAT IS LAWFUL AND RESTORES TRUST AMONG CHICAGO’S MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES ............................................................................................................. 134
CPD’s Move to Restore True Community Policing Will Be Difficult But Is Promising ...................................................................................................................... 136