Between 2019 and 2022, #Chicago taxpayers footed a $142.8 million bill for lawsuits involving 141 #police officers accused of multiple misconduct incidents, part of a larger $295 million spent on over 1,000 officers' misconduct cases, including false arrest and excessive force. Despite this, WTTW News' analysis revealed no disciplinary actions or retraining for these officers. In 2022, $51.5 million was spent on lawsuits involving 286 repeat-offender officers. The city's Law Department, under Mary Richardson Lowry, is set to implement a new legal case management system for better data analysis in March.
This is the second annual review by #WTTW News, examining data mandated by a federal consent decree, which requires the Chicago Police Department to reform its training, supervision, and disciplinary processes. However, only 6% of the decree's requirements have been met. The reports lack full officer identification, and the City Council needs to scrutinize the data. Despite repeated calls for systematic tracking of lawsuit settlements and costs, city officials have not acted, hindering risk management within the police department.
Highlighting individual cases, the report mentions officers like David Salgado, Xavier Elizondo, and Rocco Pruger, who were involved in multiple misconduct cases with high settlement costs. Despite a glaring record of 43 misconduct complaints, Pruger remains an active officer. The city's failure to establish an early warning system to flag problematic officers, as required by the consent decree, poses a significant concern, with the system still in its pilot phase despite recommendations from the University of Chicago Crime Lab and support from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
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Link: WTTW
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