MONDAY, DEC. 7, 2015, 4:00PM EDT
Long before Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke shot and killed a black teenager, sparking a public outcry and now a Justice Department probe into the city’s troubled police department, he had established a track record as one of Chicago’s most complained-about cops.
Since 2001, civilians have lodged 20 complaints against Van Dyke. None were sustained by investigators.
While it may seem surprising that so many complaints against one officer would be tossed out, a Huffington Post analysis of four years of city data released by the Invisible Institute, a nonprofit journalism organization, reveals that there are more than 180 city police officers with more complaints than Van Dyke who weren’t disciplined at all over that time. Most of those complaints were made by black residents, whose allegations of police misconduct are dismissed at nearly four times the rate of complaints filed by whites, HuffPost found.
All police misconduct
complaints in Chicago,
2011-2015
Complaints made
by black Chicagoans
Sustained complaints
by black Chicagoans
Darker circles indicate more incidents occurred in a location
Where 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was killed by Van Dyke last year
All police misconduct complaints
in Chicago, 2011-2015
Darker circles
indicate more
incidents ocurred
in a location
Where 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was killed by Van Dyke last year
Complaints made
by black Chicagoans
Sustained complaints
by black Chicagoans
Sources: Invisible Institute, City of Chicago, Census Bureau, CNN
Of 10,500 complaints filed by black people between 2011 and 2015, just 166 — or 1.6 percent — were sustained or led to discipline after an internal investigation. Overall, the authority sustained just 2.6 percent of all 29,000 complaints. Nationally, between 6 and 20 percent of citizen-initiated complaints are sustained, said Lou Reiter, a police consultant who trains internal affairs investigators. As HuffPost’s Ryan Reilly noted earlier this year, a lack of transparency and accountability within police departments is a phenomenon hardly limited to Chicago.
The Chicago data examined by HuffPost is incomplete: Race was not disclosed on about 40 percent of complaints.
Allegation outcome by race
White
Black
Other/unknown
17%
66%
Most unsustained allegations had black complainants. Most sustained allegations had white complainants.
7,760 not sustained
allegations
59%
20%
234 sustained
allegations
57%
28%
436 disciplined
allegations
0%
100%
Allegation outcome by race
White
Black
Other/unknown
7,760 not sustained allegations
16.5%
65.5%
234 sustained allegations
58.5%
19.6%
436 disciplined allegations
0%
100%
57.3%
27.5%
Most unsustained allegations had black complainants. Most sustained allegations had white complainants.
Source: Invisible Institute
It’s impossible to determine from the data whether individual complaints were dismissed for good reason, or whether investigators missed or failed to take into account evidence that would have resulted in more complaints being upheld. But many complaints dismissed by investigators later resulted in settlements after the accusers pursued lawsuits, according to a Chicago Tribune investigation. Between 2004 and 2014, the city paid out over $520 million in settlements, legal fees and other costs related to police misconduct, according to the Better Government Association.
Chicago agencies responsible for investigating allegations of police misconduct will initiate an investigation only if the complainant signs a sworn statement, or affidavit, as required by state law. Yet in many cases, complainants choose not to do so. One of the most common reasons a citizen might not sign is because their complaint alleges misconduct by an arresting officer. Lawyers often tell their clients not to sign affidavits because their statements can be used against them at trial, said Karen Sheley, senior staff counsel for the Illinois American Civil Liberties Union.
While Chicago isn’t alone in requiring a sworn statement before investigating complaints, a few police departments have moved to accept anonymously filed complaints. Some experts view affidavit requirements as an impediment to investigating misconduct. In Chicago during the four-year period examined by HuffPost, there were nearly 4,700 instances where a) an allegation lacked an affidavit and b) the race of the complainant was recorded. Within that group, two-thirds of the allegations were filed by African-Americans.
“You shouldn’t inhibit people from coming forward with information alleging misconduct,” Reiter said. “You shouldn’t put unnecessary hindrances or roadblocks in their way.”
Race is not a factor when judging the validity of complaints, an Independent Police Review Authority spokesman said. He said the agency does not consider a complaint as valid without an affidavit, and that if they are removed from the total, the sustained rate is much higher.
Sources: Invisible Institute, City of Chicago, Census Bureau
Most of the complaints in the period examined by HuffPost were filed in majority-black neighborhoods, which also tend to have higher crime rates than other areas of the city. Allegations against Chicago officers ranged from traffic violations to serious criminal misconduct like sexual assault and battery. Nearly half of the 9,000 officers accused of misconduct were white.
MORE BLACK
RESIDENTS
ROGERS
PARK
EDISON
PARK
WEST
RIDGE
FOREST
GLEN
NORWOOD
PARK
EDGEWATER
NORTH
PARK
JEFFERSON
PARK
LINCOLN
SQUARE
OHARE
UPTOWN
IRVING
PARK
PORTAGE
PARK
NORTH
CENTER
LAKE
VIEW
DUNNING
AVONDALE
BELMONT
CRAGIN
MONTCLARE
LINCOLN
PARK
LOGAN SQUARE
MORE WHITE
RESIDENTS
NEAR
NORTH
SIDE
WEST
TOWN
HUMBOLDT
PARK
AUSTIN
GARFIELD
PARK
LOOP
NEAR
WEST SIDE
White
Black
Other
NORTH
LAWNDALE
NEAR
SOUTH
SIDE
LOWER
WEST SIDE
Chicago resident race
SOUTH
LAWNDALE
BRIDGE-
PORT
DOUGLAS
OAKLAND
GRAND
BOULEVARD
32%
32%
BRIGHTON
PARK
NEW
CITY
ARCHER
HEIGHTS
KENWOOD
HYDE
PARK
GAGE
PARK
WASHINGTON
PARK
GARFIELD RIDGE
Allegation complainant race
WOODLAWN
CLEARING
ENGLEWOOD
WEST
LAWN
CHICAGO
LAWN
GREATER
GRAND
CROSSING
SOUTH
SHORE
21%
61%
AUBURN
GRESHAM
SOUTH
CHICAGO
ASHBURN
CHATHAM
Uniformed police and high-level officers
CALUMET
HEIGHTS
WASHINGTON
HEIGHTS
PULLMAN
BEVERLY
EAST
SIDE
53%
25%
MOUNT
GREENWOOD
ROSELAND
MORGAN
PARK
SOUTH
DEERING
Officers with complaints against them
WEST
PULLMAN
RIVERDALE
HEGEWISCH
44%
21%
0%
100%
MORE BLACK
RESIDENTS
MORE WHITE
RESIDENTS
White
Black
Other
Chicago resident race
32%
32%
Allegation complainant race
21%
61%
Uniformed police and high-level officers
53%
25%
Officers with complaints against them
44%
21%
0%
100%
Sources: Invisible Institute, City of Chicago, Census Bureau, CNN, Chicago Police Department
The recent release of video footage showing Van Dyke shooting and killing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald has focused new attention on long-simmering complaints by black Chicagoans about police brutality, and a system that does not allow them a real opportunity to seek justice.
The video appears to contradict statements by Van Dyke and other officers on the scene, who said that McDonald was threatening them with a knife. In fact, the video appears to show McDonald walking away from the officers when he was shot. The video was withheld by Chicago authorities for over a year, without adequate explanation.
Last week, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate possible “systemic violations” by the cops, citing racial disparity in complaint dismissal rates. “Trust in the Chicago Police Department is broken, especially in communities of color in the City of Chicago,” she wrote.
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