The five officers who conducted the traffic stop that led to the death of Dexter Reed and the wounding of one officer had been the subject of 36 complaints that they were improperly stopping Chicagoans driving through the city’s West Side, according to records provided to WTTW News by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
Chicago Police Department
A 2016 probe by the U.S. Department of Justice found that Chicago police officers were rarely held accountable for misconduct because of badly broken systems as well as a “code of silence” among officers that allowed them to act with impunity. CPD has fully complied with just 6% of the court order known as the consent decree designed to require the police department to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers.
According to the Chicago Police Department, 48 people were shot in separate incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday, marking one of the most violent weekends in the city thus far this year.
Four victims were children, police said Sunday. An 8-year-old girl was fatally shot, while a 1-year-old boy and a 8-year-old boy were each shot multiple times and listed in critical condition.
Superintendent Larry Snelling’s remarks come nearly two months after the first sign of deep tension between CPD and COPA emerged, and reflect a widening breach between the two agencies, sources told WTTW News.
“These robberies have created trauma for the victims and fear in our communities,” Superintendent Larry Snelling said. “We want everyone in this city to not only feel safe, but to actually be safe.”
The footage of Chicago police officers firing 96 shots at Dexter Reed following a traffic stop has caused outrage with the city’s Black community and led to demands for change — and accountability — for the police officers involved.
The rules that govern when — and how — Chicago police officers can use force against members of the public are complicated and subject to interpretation, despite years of efforts to make it less likely that an altercation between an officer and a Chicagoan turns deadly. Those rules face new scrutiny after officers shot and killed Dexter Reed on March 21.
Julius Reed is facing misdemeanor charges of resisting a peace officer and one count of battery following his arrest Tuesday.
COPA calls for officers to be relieved of police powers during investigation
COPA in a statement said preliminary evidence “appears to confirm” that Reed fired first before officers responded by firing 96 shots in a matter 41 seconds. The agency has recommended to CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling that four of the officers involved be relieved of their police powers during the pendency of this investigation.
Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten wrote in a letter to Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling that her agency has “grave concerns about the officers’ ability to assess what is a necessary, reasonable, and proportional use of deadly force.”
It is not clear when Mayor Brandon Johnson will make his pick from among 15 people nominated by members of Chicago’s police district council members and send those seven names to the City Council for confirmation to serve four-year terms.
According to the Chicago Police Department, 23 people were shot between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
A federal judge is set to decide whether to force changes to CPD’s proposed mass arrest policy as the city prepares for the Democratic National Convention from Aug. 19-24.
CPD said it works with private partners and businesses to aid eligible vehicle owners in obtaining steering wheel locks, catalytic converter etchings and other theft prevention information.
Chicago Police Continued to Target Black, Latino Drivers With Flood of Traffic Stops in 2023: Report
The vast majority of the more than 537,000 traffic stops made by Chicago police in 2023 were based on dubious evidence of minor violations that took direct aim at Black and Latino Chicagoans but spared White Chicagoans, according to a new report from Impact for Equity, a nonprofit advocacy and research organization that has helped lead the push to reform the Chicago Police Department.
