Crime & Law
Suspend 4 CPD Officers Repeatedly Accused of Making Improper Traffic Stops for 72 Days: Police Brass
(WTTW News)
Four Chicago police officers repeatedly accused of improperly stopping and searching Black men downtown should be suspended for a combined 72 days for their actions during an August 2024 traffic stop, Chicago Police Department leaders and the agency tasked with investigating police misconduct agreed, records show.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability determined that four tactical team officers assigned to patrol the Near North (18th) Police District violated the civil rights of three people when the officers improperly searched a car shortly after 8 p.m. on Aug. 11, 2024, according to records published Thursday.
The agency better known as COPA found that while the officers properly stopped the car on suspicion that the driver was not wearing their seat belt, the officers should not have searched the car and should not have handcuffed one of three people in the car after the stop near Division and Sedgwick streets near Cabrini-Green, a complex operated by the Chicago Housing Authority that sits just west of the Gold Coast.
The complaint that prompted the probe was made anonymously, records show. Until 2021, city officials were prohibited from investigating complaints made by unidentified people against police officers.
COPA warned in December 2024 that more than 50 traffic stops made by the 18th District Tactical Team resulted in a troubling pattern of undocumented and unprofessional stops of Black people in Lincoln Park, West Town, Old Town, River North, Streeterville, the Gold Coast and parts of Logan Square, records show.
Five members of that tactical team have been stripped of their police powers, including two of the four officers who participated in the Aug. 11, 2024, traffic stop and search.
Both the driver and one of the passengers riding in the car on Aug. 11, 2024, were armed and had valid Firearm Owners Identification cards as well as licenses permitting them to carry concealed weapons when they were stopped by officers assigned to the 18th District tactical team, according to the probe. When they informed the officers that they were legally carrying guns, all three people in the car were ordered out of the car and searched, according to the probe.
No one was cited or arrested as a result of the traffic stop or the search, which officers did not properly document, according to the probe.
During the investigation, three of the four officers said they searched the vehicle because of the presence of cannabis in the car, records show. However, there is no evidence that anyone in the car illegally possessed the drug, and the officers’ body-worn cameras did not capture the discovery of improperly stored cannabis, according to the probe. No drugs were confiscated during the stop, records show.
Sgt. Erick Seng initiated the stop, and supervised the other officers while they improperly searched the car, its passengers and their belongings, according to the probe.
Seng “ordered and/or failed to stop” the improper search of the driver and the two passengers, who were not identified by COPA, in keeping with the agency’s rules.
In addition, Seng did not ensure that the officers under his command properly documented the traffic stop as well as the decision to detain the driver and the two passengers, according to the probe. Seng also failed to activate his body-worn camera as required by Chicago Police Department policy, records show.
Lt. Kelly Schnoor, of CPD’s Bureau of Internal Affairs, agreed with COPA’s recommendation to suspend Seng for 25 days, records show. Seng, who earns $152,010 annually, is detailed to CPD’s Gang Investigation Division, records show.
In January, police brass agreed to suspend Seng for 15 days in connection with his actions during another traffic stop that violated the constitutional rights of another driver, records show.
In all, 12 complaints against Seng have been sustained, resulting in recommended suspensions totaling 91 days, records show. An additional three complaints have been sustained against Seng, but discipline in those cases is pending, records show.
Seng did not respond to a request for comment from WTTW News on Friday.
In addition, police brass also agreed to suspend Officers Richard Rodriguez and Joseph Vecchio for 20 days each in connection with their actions during the Aug. 11, 2024, traffic stop.
Both Vecchio and Rodriguez have been stripped of their police powers, records show. Both officers earn more than $111,200 annually.
Rodriguez improperly handcuffed one of the car’s passengers and failed to document the traffic stop and search as required. The person handcuffed by Rodriguez posed no threat to the officers and should not have been detained, COPA’s probe concluded.
In all, 19 complaints against Rodriguez have been sustained, resulting in recommended suspensions totaling at least 151 days, records show. An additional five complaints have been sustained against Rodriguez, but discipline in those cases is pending, records show.
Vecchio improperly searched the personal belongings of the car’s passengers, and failed to document the traffic stop and search as required, COPA’s probe concluded.
In all, 19 complaints against Vecchio have been sustained, resulting in recommended suspensions totaling at least 132 days, records show. An additional eight complaints have been sustained against Vecchio, but discipline in those cases is pending, records show.
In addition, police brass agreed to suspend Officer Crystina Kittrell for seven days, after police brass objected to COPA’s recommendation that she be suspended for at least 11 days, records show. COPA ultimately agreed to the seven-day suspension.
Kittrell improperly searched the car and the passengers’ belongings and improperly detained and searched a female passenger in the car, COPA’s probe concluded. Kittrell also failed to document the traffic stop and search as required, records show.
Police brass also agreed to suspend Kittrell in connection with her actions during a Sept. 1, 2024, traffic stop that also resulted in discipline for Vecchio and Rodriguez, records show. The two traffic stops were separated by 21 days and less than a mile, records show.
Kittrell remains assigned to the 18th District, a CPD spokesperson said Friday. She earns more than $111,200 annually, records show.
In addition, Kittrell was suspended for 30 days in connection with a 2023 complaint that she was intoxicated while off-duty and for “driving under the influence while in the state of Tennessee,” records show.
Vecchio and Kittrell did not respond to a request for comment from WTTW News on Friday. Rodriguez could not be reached for comment.
WTTW News coverage of policing and police reform is supported by The Joyce Foundation.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
