Source : Mashable
By : ColinDaileda
Category : Attorney Matthews Bark of Orlando
The DOJ plans to investigate whether any of the department's practices contribute to civil rights violations. The DOJ's decision comes less than two weeks after a court ordered Chicago officials to release video of police shooting a 17-year-old named Laquan McDonald.
The Chicago Police Department has long been at odds with the city's community for allegedly violating the civil rights of black residents. We've reviewed some of the department's history with violations and shunning transparency, below.
The short answer is there is no short answer. At least, that's what Chicago officials want people to think.
Various city agencies spent well over a year investigating the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald, all while saying the release of the video could compromise the investigation. Yet the video was made public within days of a judge's order to release it, and former officer Jason Van Dyke, who shot McDonald 16 times, was suddenly charged with murder.Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, and the Chicago Police Department have all been accused of trying to keep the video from the public.
"We still have no good explanation why it took so long," wrote the Chicago Tribune's Eric Zorn on Nov. 24. "What piece of information, what testimony, what conclusion from which governmental body were they waiting for? Or, as we are left to conclude, were they simply biding their time, hoping the video would never be released and that this incident would simply fade from memory?"
Though criminal charges are rarely filed against Chicago police officers, the city often has to deal with civil claims against their officers.
In fact, Chicago police paid $521.3 million in settlements, legal fees, judgments awarded, and more from 2004-2013, according to a study published by the Better Government Association.
And at the time that study was published, 500 lawsuits were still pending.
Though the BGA couldn't find the total number of lawsuits filed against Chicago police during the same time period, they did find 1,611 lawsuits filed in relation to police misconduct between 2009-2013. Most of them alleged police had used excessive force.
In 2015, more than 99% of all civilian complaints against Chicago police have resulted in no officer discipline, according to The New York Times.
Between 2011-2015, civilians filed 28,500 complaints against officers, 97% of which resulted in nothing.
Simon Balto, a history professor at Ball State University who is writing a book on race and policing in Chicago, recently wrote that Chicago's ability to make civilian complaints vanish "would be an almost impressive feat of obfuscation, were it not so maddening and socially harmful.”
The man pictured above, former Chicago police officer Jon Burge, led a ring of officers who tortured dozens of victims between 1972-1991. The torture often led to false criminal confessions. Chicago issued a reparations package in May worth $5.5 million. The package will provide 50 victims with free college tuition for them and their families, free counseling, and up to $100,000 to spend how they choose.
The city's police have long been stained by Burge and his gang of officers, but that's not the only massive Chicago police scandal to make headlines this year.
In February, The Guardian revealed an alleged Chicago police "black site" where officers reportedly hold arrestees without listing them in booking databases. At the holding site, known as Homan Square, police would reportedly shackle arrestees and deny them attorneys. At least one person was found dead after police put him in what The Guardian said was called an "interview room."
(Source : http://mashable.com/2015/12/07/chicago-police-department-history-investigation/#j_rpwrktoaqL )
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