Page 5 - November 2017 Magazine

CHICAGO LODGE # 7 lÑÑáÅá~ä j~Ö~òáåÉ
FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE CHICAGO LODGE #7
EXECUTIVE BOARD
DEAN C. ANGELO, SR.
President
RAY CASIANO, JR.
First Vice-President
Frank DiMaria Second Vice-President Daniel D. Gorman Third Vice-President Greg Bella Recording Secretary Kevin Kilmer Financial Secretary John Capparelli Treasurer
Bill Nolan Immediate Past President John Dineen Parliamentarian
Sergeants-at-Arms
Bill Burns Al Francis, Jr. Jim Jakstavich
Trustees
Robert Rutherford, Chair Dean Angelo, Jr. Mark Donahue
Pat Duckhorn Sergio Escobedo Kathleen Gahagan Michael Garza Joseph Gentile
Ken Hauser
Tom Lonergan Kevin McNulty Landry Reeves
Inez Riley
Jay Ryan
Steve Schorsch
Ron Shogren Daniel Trevino
Field Reps
Keith Carter Marlon Harvey Thomas McDonagh
Magazine Committee Members
Greg Bella, Chair Joseph Gentile Bill Burns Thomas McKenna Michael Carroll
President’s Report
Use of Force overhaul
In October, the Chicago Police Department virtually dismantled its long-standing Use of Force Model. This changeover came on the heels of multiple updates and amendments that were imple- mented as recently as January 2016, while still other adjust- ments were instituted in
Once again, what is obviously missing from this last statement is any reference by the Department of taking into account and con- sideration the expectations of Chicago Police Officers. Even if the Department thought about the needs or expectations of Chicago Police Officers for just a fleeting moment, or if it went through some type of convoluted process before discarding the needs and expectations of the Chicago Police Officers, wouldn’t it have been nice if they took a moment to mention it?
DEAN C. ANGELO, SR.
March 2015. By the time this issue reaches the membership, the CPD’s Use of Force Model will have received the most massive changeover since John C. Desmedt’s Para- digm became part of the General Order in 1983. Once agreed upon, the insertion of Desmedt’s Paradigm was THE most signifi- cant change to the policy used to provide direction and place limitations, where nec- essary, concerning uses of force. Immediately following the inclusion of the paradigm, mandatory training sessions began as the most reasonable means to familiarize everyone with the concepts and processes behind such specifics as: the recognition of offender-initiated threat levels; the ranges of responses available to Officers; and – what many consider most important – the proper articulation to address and ensure that the amount of force was, in fact, necessary and how that force assisted Officers to properly (and safely) mit- igate a threat while maintaining compliance within Departmental guidelines, and also within the law.
Our assessment of the new document is that the overall makeup of the final language could easily be considered remedial and condescending. Much of the order’s wording might be better suited for new hires and not for any of the women and men who have been working the meanest and most dangerous streets that Chicago has to offer. Does the Department actually believe that it must remind its Officers that they should value human life? Does not every Chicago Police Officer demonstrate how strongly he or she values human life every time each runs toward gunfire; or when putting their lives on the line for someone they have never met? Does the Department really think it needs to remind Police Officers to be mindful of, or take into account, the safety of all persons? Does not every Chicago Police Officer do that each and every time he or she leaves roll call and with every response to a call for help? Does the Depart- ment actually buy into the premise that Chicago Police Officers must be told not to engage in using force against someone based on an individual’s gender, race, eth- nicity or sexual orientation? Is that some- thing that Chicago Police Officers have demonstrated that they have a problem with? If so, where are the examples? Show us the numbers related to the physical abuse being handed out based on someone’s gen- der, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Either bring forward the allegations or stop with the accusations.
Fast-forward to October 2016. The most recently-introduced Use of Force language, along with an additional document issued by the Department titled Summary of Guide- lines, makes several references about how the new order “must ensure that the Depart- ment and community needs are met.” Lost in that language is any mention of the needs of the Chicago Police Officers. Furthermore, the summary addresses how “the Depart- ment must ensure that its policy must remain unbiased” and “that it must provide increased accountability and transparency while properly serving the community and meeting the community’s expectations.”
We could go on and on, but there are so
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