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On Wednesday, May 8, 2013 the Chicago Council of Lawyers, the Chicago Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society, and the Office of the Cook County Public Defender hosted the forum, Investigating and Reporting on Complaints against Chicago Police Officers, concerning the work of the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA).

The forum featured Ilana Rosenzweig, Chief Administrator of the IPRA, Angela Caputo, reporter for The Chicago Reporter, and Harold Winston of the Chicago Coalition for Police Accountability.

The speakers described the achievements of the IPRA and also its continuing challenges. Chief among these challenges was maintaining engagement with the community to help maintain the effectiveness of the IPRA. The need for a strong independent review authority is as great as ever—as Angela Caputo’s reporting (summarized in part below) has found, many complaints are driven by repeat offenders in the police department and an attendant culture that rarely disciplines them for their actions.

The IPRA was established in 2007 with the support of the Chicago Coalition for Police Accountability and the Chicago Council of Lawyers, among other groups, to investigate complaints against Chicago Police Officers. By ordinance, the IPRA is responsible for investigating complaints against officers “concerning domestic violence, excessive force, coercion, and verbal abuse” as well as instances where officers discharge firearms or Tasers, or where individuals are injured or die while in police custody. Unlike the previous Office of Professional Standards, the IPRA reports to the mayor and not the police department.

Complaints Against the Chicago Police Department are Driven in Substantial Part by Repeat Offenders and a Culture that Treats Their Actions with Impunity

Angela Caputo’s article on complaints against police officers and lawsuits against the City for police misconduct underscores the need for a strong independent review authority. Ms. Caputo noted that those who live in the poorer neighborhoods of the South and West sides describe the police as just another “gang.” She set out to quantify the problem by examining the 441 police misconduct cases that ended with city payments for the period of January 2009 through November 2011. Of the $45.5 million paid in damages by the City of Chicago in police misconduct lawsuits during this period, over a quarter ($11.7 million) were based on the conduct of about 1% of police officers, “repeaters” who were named in two or more lawsuits. Eight out of ten these “repeaters” remain on the job with little to no signs of disciplinary action. In fact, Ms. Caputo noted anecdotally, in some cases this type of notoriety in the police department comes with a measure of respect; actions that are considered frightening abuses of power by citizens are treated by some in the Chicago Police Department as mere incorrigibility or bravado. Some “repeaters” receive promotions, and their misconduct and their cost to the taxpayers do not seem to count against them.

Engagement Is Necessary to Maintain and Push Forward the IPRA

Ilana Rosenzweig, Chief Administrator of the IPRA, along with Harold Winston of the Chicago Coalition for Police Accountability described many of the achievements of the IPRA along with areas for improvement.

Ms. Rosenzweig reported that she had worked on improving the relation between IPRA and the the offices of the States Attorney and the U.S Attorney, which have authority to prosecute police officers for  criminal misconduct.  She also noted that IPRA now has access to important databases of information, such as the GPS devices on police cars, which can help resolve disputes at to when police arrived on the scene. Mr. Winston noted that the IPRA, unlike its predecessor agency, the Office of Professional Standards, has independent subpoena power, furthering its authority. Mr. Winston laid out many areas that need work done as well. Foremost, the Chicago Coalition for Police Accountability would like to see an expanded definition of coercion. Currently IPRA is tasked with investigating complaints of express or implied threats of violence. CCPA would like coercion to take into the account threats by police officers to press additional charges in order to obtain cooperation by witnesses and also threats to contact DCFS, in effect threatening to take away their children. IPRA also needs more staffing. Ms. Rosenzweig noted that one of the great challenges has been increasing the effectiveness of the IPRA in times of budgetary hardship. Currently IPRA investigates twice as many complaints per investigator compared to the Chicago Police Department’s Bureau of Internal Affairs.

Ms. Rosenzweig called for continued and increased engagement by the community to keep IPRA truly independent. In her interactions with City Hall she is often asked what groups concern themselves with the work of the IPRA. Given the sheer amount of complaints and payouts regarding police misconduct in this city, and given the unique position of the IPRA as civilian oversight of the Police department, the answer should be everyone.