Revised CPD “Use of Force” Guidelines – Another Reason for Community Control
From: Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression
Leaders of the movement for democratic community control of the Chicago Police Department blasted the CPD draft revised guidelines on the use of force (UOF) as encouragement of police crimes, including murder, that have plagued the department.
The Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and its Organizing Committee to Stop Police Crimes (SPC OC) is supporting an ordinance now before the Chicago City Council that would create a democratically elected Civilian Police Accountability Council, (CPAC) introduced last summer by eight aldermen.
Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson announced the first draft UOF guidelines last October, in the wake of the mass upsurge of protests over police murders, especially that of Laquan McDonald, which Mayor Rahm Emanuel, State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, and the CPD covered up for over 13 months. The second draft, released only a week ago, retracts many of the meager restrictions on police UOF of the first one.
A special Police Accountability Task Force appointed by Emanuel called out racial bias in CPD misuse of deadly force, and the first draft guidelines addressed some of the Task Force recommendations. In December the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an even more damning report on the same issues and made more recommendations.
In spite of this the second draft of the CPD guidelines caves in to the Fraternal Order of Police, giving the CPD substantially greater leeway to use deadly force.
“This charade demonstrates to all that no matter what or from whom the proposals are, the reality is that until the people of Chicago have the power to set CPD policies, procedures and rules there will be no change,” Frank Chapman, Field Organizer of the Alliance declared.
“This retreat comes after the U. S. Attorney General, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, has made it clear that the DOJ will remove all restraints from racist police departments all over the country, and that so-called consent decrees to end racist practices will no longer be supported.”
The powers of CPAC include the appointment of the police superintendent and the power to refer cases of police crime to the U. S. Grand Jury for prosecution.
“The creation of CPAC will not only be a major step toward reducing police crime,” Chapman continued. “It will also be a major step toward making our communities safer by holding police directly accountable to the community for the way the neighborhoods are policed, and by whom.”
