Page 21 - October Newsletter

Officers that are not only set forth in the contract but also contained in state law. Many of the protections found in our contract are codified in the Uniform Peace Officers’ Disci- plinary Act, which is a state statute that applies to all law en- forcement agencies.
The City also is trying to change significantly the standard by which Police Officers are to evaluate use-of-force options, which the Lodge believes would undermine the officers’ work and in the end create safety and disciplinary issues for the officers. Currently, the Illinois peace officer’s use of force in making arrests states:
A peace officer...need not retreat or desist from efforts to make a lawful arrest because of resistance or threatened resis- tance to the arrest. He is justified to use any force which he rea- sonably believes to be necessary to effect the arrest and of any force which he reasonably believes to be necessary to defend himself or another from bodily harm while making the arrest.
Such language has existed in various general orders for years. The new language being considered by the City refers to the use of deadly force as a “last resort” and is not consis- tent with the statute.
The City also has gone overboard in the amount of authori- ty that COPA has been given to investigating anytime a Police Officer is involved in a firearms discharge. Now, COPA is re- quired to investigate all shooting incidents, including those in which no allegation of misconduct is made. For example, evidence will not be collected or processed until the COPA street deputy arrives, including firearms recoveries and au- dio/video evidence obtained. This is quite problematic, as it adds an extra element in the investigation of a crime, when timely retrieval of evidence is key. What happens if a COPA
investigator takes an hour or more to get to a scene? Potential evidence may be lost or contaminated, placing Police Offi- cers at risk for being disciplined, and more importantly, an offender may go free due to lost or tainted evidence.
Moreover, conflicting rules exist about when in-car and body-worn cameras should be deactivated. One part of the new rule says that cameras will not be deactivated until a supervisor says so, and another part of the rule says that re- cording equipment will be deactivated before providing oral responses to public safety questions. What happens when a supervisor says that the recording must stay on during re- sponses to public safety questions? How, if at all, will a Police Officer be disciplined?
The Lodge raised these and many more concerns in a five-page document back in May. Apparently, the Lodge’s concerns fell on deaf ears. As President Graham recently ex- plained in an appearance on Chicago Tonight, Chicago Po- lice Officers are engaged, enthusiastic and dedicated public servants who love this City but do not want to be considered political pawns. As dedicated public servants, it is the job of Police Officers to serve and protect. For Police Officers on the street, split-second decisions often need to be made.
The Lodge is here to protect its members. It is the Lodge’s job to make sure that Police Officers who are accused of wrongdoing are treated fairly in the process and are not used as public relations examples by the Department. The City, however, seems to have a habit of making unilateral changes without regard to its obligations — mostly at the expense of Police Officers. As I have said time and time again, the Lodge will continue to protect its members’ rights and force the City to comply with its legal obligations. d
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