Crime & Law
Chicago Police Oversight Board Taps New Leader, Chooses 5 Finalists in Search for Police Misconduct Agency Chief
The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability elected Vice President Remel Terry as its new leader. (Inset: Provided. Background: Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability elected Vice President Remel Terry as its new leader, after former President Anthony Driver Jr. stepped down as the leader of Chicago’s police oversight board as he runs for Congress.
Terry has been a member of the commission, better known as the CCPSA, since it was launched in 2022. A resident of the West Side, Terry is the program director for Equiticity, a nonprofit devoted to racial equity, and worked for JPMorgan Chase for five years.
Driver, who is also the executive director of the Service Employee International Union Illinois State Council, is one of at least seven candidates who are running to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, who has represented Illinois’ 7th Congressional District since 1997.
Driver remains a member of the board.
Terry will lead the commission as it works to select a new chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which has been without a permanent leader since February.
Twenty-four people applied to lead the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, according to commission executive director Adam Gross. Five candidates were selected to be interviewed by the commission, Gross said.
After a second round of interviews, the commission will send their pick to lead the agency tasked with investigating misconduct by Chicago police officers to Mayor Brandon Johnson, who will have 30 days to weigh in on the commission’s pick.
The nomination will then head to the Chicago City Council’s Committee on Police and Fire for consideration. If the panel advances the commission’s pick, it will be up to the full City Council to confirm the agency’s new leader.
Former COPA Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten resigned after Driver and Terry informed her the commission planned to recommend her termination for a number of failures they said had compromised Chicago’s police accountability system, eroding public confidence in policing and police oversight.
Driver and Terry have also led the commission’s efforts to draft a new policy governing the Chicago Police Department’s use of traffic stops amid a debate over whether CPD should be allowed to pull over drivers for minor registration or equipment violations in an effort to find evidence of “unrelated” crimes.
Supt. Larry Snelling has said police officers must be allowed to continue stopping drivers for improper or expired registration plates or stickers and headlight, taillight and license plate light offenses to ensure that Chicago’s streets do not become more “dangerous” for all drivers.
However, a majority of the commission, including Terry, believe that the stops “do more harm than good” and should be banned, with some exceptions.
City officials agreed more than a year ago to allow a federal court order requiring CPD to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers, known as the consent decree, to expand to include traffic stops.
That will require the traffic stop policy to win the support of not just the CCPSA but also the Illinois Attorney General’s Office as well as the independent monitoring team charged with enforcing the consent decree. U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer, the judge overseeing the reform push, has the power to resolve any disputes.
The CCPSA has the authority to approve new CPD policies.
WTTW News coverage of policing and police reform is supported by The Joyce Foundation.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
