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Cop misconduct probes delayed, charges dismissed


CHICAGO (AP) — The agency tasked with investigating allegations of misconduct on the part of Chicago police is plagued by long delays in case work, some of which have led to the dismissal of charges, according to a published report Sunday.

The Independent Police Review Authority investigates some 2,800 complaints of police misconduct each year. In the five years since it was created by city officials, the agency has filed 40 complaints to the Chicago Police Board, which decides the outcome on serious cases. Those investigations took one to five years to complete, the Chicago Tribune reported (trib.in/LYk6FC) Sunday.

The family of Greg Larkins said it was such a delay that cost them justice.

A Chicago police officer allegedly hit Larkin's head with a baton in 2006. Family members say the incident required hospitalization and wasn't provoked. The police review group filed charges of excessive force against an officer and called for his firing, but the board dismissed the case because the five-year statute of limitations ran out.

"It just went on and on," Larkins' mother, Alice, told the Tribune.

The Fraternal Order of Police said the investigations are too long, can hurt police officers and violate a city contract. The union plans to bring up the issue during an arbitration hearing Monday.

Other cases also have been affected by the delays.

Earlier this month, city attorneys appealed a Cook County Circuit Court ruling that reversed the firings of two off-duty Chicago police officers accused in a 2006 attack because their case took too long.

"The delay is ridiculous, but what's more maddening is the delay seems unnecessary," said Thomas Needham, a lawyer who defends officers accused of misconduct. "No one is difficult to find. No one is asserting their right to remain silent. No one is recanting. They are fairly simple, straightforward cases that shouldn't take months or years to investigate."

However, the head of the agency disagreed.

Ilana Rosenzweig said the investigations are complex and need to be thorough, plus, there is a staffing shortage. She said that the office has had to rebuild trust in the community and inherited a backlog of cases from a now-defunct office.

"We had to start from a position where we had to gain a lot of trust that was lost over the years," she said. "There are investigations where we might have spent six months to get (a witness) to cooperate."