Police Brutality Ordinance Introduced in Chicago Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit source:Paul Hirschfield Nov 3 1997 Comment: While this proposed legislation and the reaction by Mayor Daley are both positive steps, I have tempered my excitement somewhat. While I love the idea of a mandatory fine for substantiated police brutality, I am puzzled why the mandatory fine is only $500 to $1000. This seems like a small price to pay for the damages officers often inflict. The article also reports that the legislation provides for suspension up to a year. This leaves me wondering what the minimum penalty for brutality, if any, would be. The fact that any legislation at all was introduced I find very encouraging. Perhaps, alderman/city councilman in other cities could also be persuaded to introduce legislation aimed at reducing brutality. What are some possibilities? Let me throw a couple out for discussion. 1. Mandate that the court settlements for police brutality cases be paid out of the police department's budget rather than the city's general fund. 2. Mandate that police officers sued for police misconduct hire their own lawyer and settle the case against them. Too often cities settle cases without requiring that any money be paid by the accused police officer. Separate settlements could ensure that the police officer pays something for his or her crime. 3. Mandate that the number of citizen complaints against an officer be used as a factor in decisions of hiring/firing and promotion. 4. Create a separate agency within the police department (like Internal Affairs) that is responsible for the criminal investigation of police brutality. In Chicago and other cities, criminal charges are almost never filed against brutal police officers owing in large part to the fact that no police investigate brutality and forward these investigations to the State's Attorney. Citizens cannot carry out criminal investigations. Any other ideas? How about mandatory drug testing for police officers? --PJH The Chicago Sun-times October 30, 1997 Four aldermen take aim at brutal cops BY FRAN SPIELMAN AND MICHELLE ROBERTS STAFF REPORTERS Chicago police officers found guilty of brutality and excessive force would face mandatory fines, jail time and a one-year suspension from the force under legislation quietly introduced this week by four aldermen. The goal of the ordinance, introduced Tuesday amid a flurry of other legislation, is to ``make police officers a little more sensitive to how they treat people,'' said Ald. Walter Burnett (27th). Cops found guilty of ``using excessive force or assaulting another person in the performance of an arrest or apprehension'' would face mandatory fines ranging from $500 to $1,000 and could be jailed for three to six months. Officers would also be suspended for up to a year and then be required to reapply for their jobs. ``If [police officers] knew they would be fined, jailed and forced to sit out a year and then reapply, I think they'd think twice before they beat up someone for no reason,'' Burnett said. Sponsored by Burnett and three other West Side aldermen--Ed Smith (28th), Percy Giles (37th) and Sam Burrell (29th)--the ordinance creates a dilemma for Mayor Daley. If Daley supports the ordinance, he risks alienating police officers who already feel abandoned by the administration in the wake of several highly publicized brutality cases. If the mayor refuses to back the ordinance, he risks angering many African Americans, who claim they are most often the victims of police beatings. Mayoral press secretary Jacqueline Heard said Daley was ``willing to look at the idea'' but he would take it a step further. ``His whole sense is that if a person is found guilty of police brutality they shouldn't be on the police force ever again.'' On Wednesday, Smith challenged Daley to support the ordinance. ``The mayor said something had to be done [about police brutality],'' Smith said. ``I hope he's serious about it. But I know one thing--we are.'' Under the plan, an officer would be punished if the Police Board finds excessive force was used, Smith said. Although the department's Office of Professional Standards is in charge of investigating brutality complaints, its disciplinary recommendations must be upheld by Supt. Matt Rodriguez and the Police Board. OPS has drawn fire in recent weeks from critics who say the office does not go far enough in investigating such cases. About three-fourths of all excessive force complaints made against Chicago officers are never proved. Police spokesman Kevin Morison declined to comment on the ordinance. But Bill Nolan, who heads the Fraternal Order of Police, was quick to criticize. ``I'd like to remind the aldermen that in the last 25 years, we've had at least 24 aldermen indicted and sent to prison and only a half-dozen police officers indicted and sent to prison,'' he said. ``While we don't condone any type of brutality, we certainly can handle our own and get rid of policemen who don't conform to the laws, rules and regulations we're all bound by,'' Nolan said. ``The aldermen should do the same.'' ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrc-11.06.97-19:56:39-20209