The Signs Were There

And the exempt staff knew it:

• The cop who fatally shot his tactical team partner during a chase on the South Side last year initially had his appointment to that unit blocked by a top Chicago Police Department official because of his disciplinary history, but that decision was reversed less than a year later even though he’d racked up more complaints, records obtained by Illinois Answers Project and the Chicago Sun-Times show.

  Officer Carlos Baker applied to the Gresham District’s tactical team in March 2024 with the blessing of his commander. But Jon Hein, the department’s chief of patrol, quashed the move, citing Baker’s lengthy disciplinary history, according to an internal memo.

And the commander who backed him before Heiniken stopped it?

• Each time he applied, Baker had the backing of his district commander, Michael Tate, who worked under Supt. Larry Snelling in areas of the department where Snelling had held top command positions earlier in his career. Tate was promoted late last year to street deputy, a high-ranking position responsible for responding to and commanding the scene at major events citywide.

When unqualified political appointees appoint the next wave of incompetents.