Progress Illinois

Last summer, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals refused to rule on a petition filed by 28 Chicago aldermen to force the Chicago Police Department (CPD) to make public the list of 662 officers who had amassed more than 10 citizen complaints between May 2001 and May 2006. Eight months (and one Daley flare-up) later, the appeal is still pending.

Now, a similar case is making its way through the courts. Unfortunately, Daley's position hasn’t changed, as evidenced by his top cop:

Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis has refused a federal judge’s order to release a list of officers with five or more citizen complaints filed against them since 2000 — as well as a similar list specific to excessive force complaints.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez had demanded that Weis turn over the lists to attorneys suing the city over an allegation an officer made a false arrest and used excessive force against two children. Valdez gave Weis until 4 p.m. Friday to comply with her order, but he refused.

According to Weis’ recent declaration (PDF) to the court, his rationale is this: the police department already has an “open complaint system” in which each citizen complaint is investigated by the Independent Police Review Authority or the CPD’s Internal Affairs Division. Furthermore, according to Weis, releasing the names of those suspected of misconduct, when "most of the officers on the list" aren't actually repeat offenders, impugns their credibility, violates their privacy, and lowers morale and performance department-wide.

But there are a few major holes in Weis’ reasoning.

For one, complaints generally aren’t filed frivolously. In 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice found that due to fear of retaliation or inaction, only 10 percent of citizens who believe they’ve been abused go on to report the incident.

Second, his contention that the CPD review process adequately investigates citizen complaints is undermined by the data. A 2007 study conducted by University of Chicago law professor Craig Futterman found (PDF) that while 80 percent of the entire force received three or fewer complaints between 2001 and 2006, the odds that the few officers charged with abuse would be disciplined was exceedingly low: two per thousand. “A good friend of mine -- and former police officer -- told me that if the department investigated crimes like it did internal complaints, they’d never close a case,” Futterman told us today.

What’s most frustrating about CPD’s secrecy is that accountability is not only important to citizens but to the department’s own employees. Nothing prevents good investigative work like the alienation of entire communities thanks to egregious behavior by a small cadre of officers. “I love good police. It’s a hard job, you’re not going to get rich doing it, and it serves the public,” says Futterman. “But any good police officer knows that accountability is critical to their success.”

In a department so blemished by misconduct as Chicago’s, transparency is the least citizens should expect. And Weis’ refusal to cooperate is another giant step in the wrong direction.