Page 20 - September 2019 FOP Newsletter

Where the rubber meets the road
We have all heard and seen a lot of the results of the Cook County state’s attorney’s philosophy regarding “social justice.” Many have ele- gantly composed strong arguments of how
and why turning the offender into the vic-
tim is counter-productive to effective law enforcement. It is only when you see it in
action that you can really understand how
this approach to criminal justice affects crime rates, public safety and our officers.
To understand the rabbit hole we have fallen into, it is first necessary to understand the policy advocated by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. One need not look too far, as it is articulated in the Two-Year Review report issued by Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx in March 2019. She clearly states that “[w]e could not increase public safe- ty without a recognition and ownership of the problems in our criminal justice system, including racial disparities and the disproportionate impact of violence and mass incarcer- ation...We are committed to working for the best, fairest out- comes. These are not measured by conviction rates or sen- tence length.”
The report excitedly promotes the new units that have been opened in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. One such unit is the Law Enforcement Accountability Division (LEAD), which is dedicated to “[p]rofessionally and efficiently evaluat- ing police-involved shootings for potential criminal charges” and “is one of the office’s top priorities.”
The office has also instituted a Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU). This unit is to review evidence, interview witnesses, study court records and investigate claims that a convicted defendant was innocent of wrongdoing. If you are hearing “police misconduct” in your ears, trust it.
The office is very concerned about the concept of implic- it bias training. Per the March report, “[O]ur criminal justice system has racial disparities which have the opportunity to be compounded at each decision-making point.” The office now has “Justice Centers,” “Diversion Programs,” and a host of oth- er social justice units. The problem that appears to be ignored is the consequences of this approach. While it may appear to be abstract to the average citizen, it is real and apparent to every working police officer in Chicago.
Recently at COPA, we saw the results of the failure of this softer approach to crime fighting. A juvenile was charged with attempted first-degree murder by driving his vehicle direct- ly at a police officer’s squad. The offender admitted that he in fact did engage in the act and was cycled into the juvenile justice system. The more serious crime of attempted first-de- gree murder was dismissed, and he was placed on probation. Of course, he failed to comply with the conditions of his pro- bation, and a warrant was issued. Officers were aware of the
20 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ SEPTEMBER 2019
warrant and knew this young man very well. He was a known gang member and general menace to his neighborhood and Chicago as a whole. Once the officers learned of the war- rant, they began to frequent the known areas where he could be found and, sure enough, located him. He was in a vehicle and saw the police, and a pursuit ensued. The officers followed the pursuit guidelines and, when the juvenile’s speed and reckless driving increased to an unacceptable level, they terminated the pursuit. The of- fender continued to drive at a highly unsafe speed to escape the now non-pursuing officers and crashed into a vehicle, se- verely injuring three people and killing himself and his pas- senger. The body-worn cameras show massive carnage and unflinching Chicago Police Officers providing care and com- fort to these innocent civilians. The officers are now under in-
vestigation for violating the pursuit policy.
The officers involved in the investigation did nothing
wrong. They followed the General Orders and should have no disciplinary issues. However, there will be the usual lawsuits filed against the City of Chicago and the officers. There are three severely injured citizens and two dead young men. The case will drag on for years, and eventually the City of Chicago will pay a significant amount of money to settle the lawsuits because that is what the City does.
While the fault clearly lies with the offender, does not the criminal justice system that handled his case also bear some responsibility? This young man should have been in juvenile detention. He had already proven himself to be a person who would attempt to kill a police officer. It is a systemic failure by the justice system to let him roam the streets on probation, put innocent citizens in harm’s way, put the precious City treasury at risk and most importantly, subject police officers to liability and unnecessary stress just doing their jobs. I also ask the prosecutors who agreed to this reduction if they hon- estly believe they served this offender well by giving him what would legally be considered a slight tap on the wrist? This new approach to prosecution may need some slight “tweaking.”
Does a reasonable society agree that youthful indiscretions should be addressed? Should a criminal justice system allow for the right offender to be given second chances, treatment and other types of sentences? Of course, we agree upon that. But if we cede that point, Miss Foxx must also acknowledge that the primary mission of a prosecutor is not to protect the guilty but to safeguard the innocent. Every reduced sentence, every failure to prosecute and every dismissal has real con- sequences. The focus should be on crime fighting, not on abstract concepts of social justice. Leave that to the social workers. If you believe that policies do not have real-life con- sequences, I suggest you speak to a couple of officers who are living with those consequences.
TIM GRACE