CHICAGO — State and city officials unveiled its plan to reform the Chicago Police Department.
The finalized consent decree was submitted to a federal judge for approval.
It was drafted by the Illinois Attorney General’s office, the City of Chicago, and the Chicago Police Department.
The new agreement requires police officers to report when they point their gun at someone. The supervisor must also be notified and review the incident to make sure policy was followed.
An independent monitor will review those incidents and make recommendations.
The agreement requires CPD to train officers on when it is appropriate to point a firearm at a person.
“The consent decree is a detailed road map to reform that Chicagoans need and can be proud of,” said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. “It’s provisions follow the recommendations from the Justice Department and respond to the concerns of the community.”
Officials say this final draft only came after receiving feedback from police officers and the community.
“If you look at the document, and you read through it, you will see their input, their voices, their perspective is embedded in this document,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “If you’re going to have lasting reform, with the police department, it cannot be done to them.”
The police officers union, the Fraternal Order of Police, has said this consent decree is premature. They see this is a political reaction to the ongoing murder trial of Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke. Van Dyke is charged with murdering Laquan McDonald.
Jury selection is ongoing.
The union warns these new rules could cause physical harm to officers.
“We don’t want hesitation,” said FOP President Kevin Graham. “We’ve already had an officer who was severely beaten and what the officer’s exact words were is ‘I don’t want to be the next person on trial.’ So, she was hesitant to pull her gun.”
But the police superintendent says that shouldn’t be an issue.
“We took a lot of time in crafting the language that would not do that,” said Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson. “I think the language addresses the concerns of the officers while addressing the need for transparency.”
For more information, go to: chicagopoliceconsentdecree.org/
