Politics
Chicago Police Board Votes to Fire Officer Who Tested Positive for Marijuana
(WTTW News)
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The Chicago Police Board voted unanimously on Thursday to fire a Chicago police officer who tested positive for marijuana, records show.
Officer Elmer Carrillo Jr. is the first CPD officer to be terminated for failing a test for marijuana since Illinois legalized the recreational use of the drug. Carrillo is also the first to be fired by the Police Board in nearly a year and a half amid a protracted legal battle that has frozen the city’s police disciplinary system.
Read the full police board ruling.
A police officer since 2018, Carrillo tested positive for the drug in November 2023, records show. Injured while he was off-duty, Carrillo was on medical leave after undergoing surgery in July 2023. After suffering a “medical incident,” Carrillo reported to CPD headquarters for a fitness-for-duty examination and underwent a drug test.
Because Carrillo accepted a 25-day suspension after being charged with drunken driving in 2021, he was enrolled in CPD’s Personal Concerns that required him to submit to mandatory drug screenings, records show.
During the Police Board hearing, Carrillo testified that he did not intentionally ingest cannabis or marijuana.
At a family party, others who were present were smoking marijuana and eating marijuana gummies. Carrillo said he ingested “two or three” gummies without reading the pink package they were in, records show.
Carrillo could not be reached for comment. A lawyer for Carrillo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The Board finds (Carrillo’s) explanation that he tested positive for marijuana because he did not know that the gummies he ingested contained marijuana, or because he was exposed to second-hand smoke from marijuana users, was not credible or persuasive,” according to the nine-member board’s unanimous conclusion. “Moreover, it bears noting that (Carrillo) displayed an astounding lack of judgment by even attending such a party, knowing that CPD policy prohibits him from using cannabis.”
The Police Board called Carrillo’s desire to continue serving as a police officer “heartfelt and laudable,” but determined his bad decision meant he was not qualified to be a CPD officer.
“This is not the first time (Carrillo) has exhibited a serious lack of judgment,” citing his acknowledgment that he drove under the influence of alcohol while off-duty in 2021.
“As a Chicago police officer, (Carrillo) would in the future encounter difficult and stressful situations in which he must act with little or no time for reflection,” according to the police board’s ruling. “He demonstrated, through his conduct leading up to his positive drug test and his suspension for DUI, that he does not possess the good judgment and self-control required of Chicago police officers to deal successfully with the many potentially explosive situations which they encounter on a daily basis. Returning (Carrillo) to duty, armed and authorized to use deadly force, poses an unacceptable risk to the safety of the public.”
Carrillo could challenge his termination in Cook County Circuit Court.
The Police Board reaffirmed its policy of upholding CPD’s prohibition on officers’ use of marijuana, even the use of the drug is now permitted by Illinois law.
“The Board will continue to determine discipline on a case-by-case basis and impose appropriate discipline based on the specific facts and circumstances of each case,” according to the board’s conclusion.
In July, the Police Board suspended Officer Marshall Andrews Jr. for 90 days after he tested positive for marijuana, rejecting Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling’s request that the officer be fired for failing a random drug test.
Andrews testified that he unintentionally ate cannabis-laced food at a family barbecue. The Police Board did not hear any evidence that Andrews had ever faced other discipline by department officials, records show.
Snelling has also asked the Police Board to terminate officers David Gibson and Aramis Williams for testing positive for marijuana. While Carrillo asked the Police Board to determine his fate, Gibson and Williams have asked an arbitrator to determine what discipline they should face, preventing them from being resolved.
The Illinois Supreme Court will decide in 2026 whether CPD officers accused of serious misconduct have the right to ask an arbitrator — and not the Police Board — to decide their fate and whether those proceedings must take place in public.
The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 says officers have a right to demand that an arbitrator decide behind closed doors whether they should be terminated or suspended for more than a year.
The Chicago Police Board holds its meetings in public and allows input from Chicagoans, while arbitrations traditionally take place behind closed doors and are not open to public scrutiny.
An appeals court decision in August upheld Cook County Judge Michael Mullen’s March 2024 ruling that allowing cases that could allow officers to be fired or suspended for more than a year to take place behind closed doors goes “against a dominant and well-defined public policy.”
That legal fight has kept 22 cases in limbo — including eight that seek to terminate officers accused of shooting Chicagoans without justification, including the officer that shot and killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo in 2021.
Two other officers face lengthy suspensions or terminations for using excessive force against members of the public, Police Board records show.
Another five officers face termination after being accused of committing domestic violence, Police Board records show.
Once the legal fight is over, it will likely take months for city officials to set up a new system to work through the now massive backlog of cases.
WTTW News coverage of policing and police reform is supported by The Joyce Foundation.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
