This Should be Fun

Depositions and discovery are going to be lit!

• A former high-ranking Chicago cop has sued the city, police Supt. Larry Snelling and other officials alleging he was added to the city’s do-not-hire list based on bogus information about his disciplinary record.

  Michael Barz, who rose to the rank of deputy chief, filed the defamation lawsuit last month in federal court in Chicago, claiming the move tarnished his reputation and contributed to the “loss of the professional dignity earned through nearly thirty years of decorated service.”

  The lawsuit highlights a memo sent to Snelling on April 26, 2025, by Joy Brown, another defendant in the case who serves as director of human resources for the city’s Office of Public Safety Administration. The memo recommended that Barz be added to the do-not-hire list, focusing on two disciplinary investigations that purportedly led to recommendations for 15-day suspensions.

  However, Barz never faced a sustained disciplinary complaint over his career, including in those two cases, the suit holds. And those suspensions weren’t imposed.

Correct us if we're mistaken, but "weren't imposed" usually means you beat the charges to the door. The case remains in what is pretty much "suspended animation" since the City can't discipline you if you aren't employed by them any more. But in the unlikely scenario that you returned to work for the CPD, the suspension findings would move forward.

In any event, the alleged "quota" system over traffic stops appears to be the main bone of contention. It's probably going to come down to interpretations of what was said and what was written down and what was "understood."

It's going to be a source of entertainment to see some white shirts on the hot seat for policies they implemented in the furtherance of their careers while hanging the blue shirts out to dry.