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."