The source directed us to two cases COPA recently published on its public case portal.
In April 2023,
COPA determined that a Chicago police sergeant unreasonably used
“excessive force, akin to deadly force” by putting his knee on the neck
of a person he was trying to arrest. COPA’s deputy chief investigator recommended that CPD fire the sergeant or suspend him for 270 days.
Interim CPD Supt. Fred Waller blasted the agency’s findings, saying
its investigators “chose not to interview any of the other officers on
scene or the civilian witness” to the alleged behavior. In fact, Waller said, the accused sergeant “was the only individual
interviewed by COPA, and a proper investigation cannot be completed
without statements from the complainant, other Department members on
scene, specifically the officers who assisted in placing [the arrestee]
into custody, and a civilian witness.”
COPA also failed to secure a sworn affidavit or an affidavit override
as required by the CPD police sergeants’ union contract, Waller
claimed.
Two months ago, Kersten signed off on a supplemental finding that the
allegation of excessive force was “not sustained.” In her memo, Kersten
maintained that there was “sufficient evidence to sustain the
allegation” but “various factors, including the age of this case, the
requirements of the collective bargaining agreement, and the attendant
procedural issues in this case significantly reduce the likelihood of
success at an evidentiary hearing.”
In February,
COPA’s chief investigator recommended a 30-day suspension for another
CPD sergeant due to comments she allegedly made about migrants living
inside the Albany Park (17th) District police station.
Specifically, the sergeant was accused of telling someone that, if
they wanted to help the migrants, they should “pick out one of them, and
take it home like they do at the [dog] pound.”
The sergeant vehemently denied the allegations.