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.

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.”
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling blasted Civilian Office of Police Accountability Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten for treating Chicago Police officers so unfairly that he says they are at risk of suicide and compromise public safety.
The proposed settlement is set to be considered Wednesday by the City Council’s Finance Committee. If approved, a final vote of the City Council could come as soon as Thursday.
The Police Board is blocked from holding any hearings until Feb. 24, with the next hearing in the lawsuit brought by the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 7, set for Feb. 26, according to the Cook County judge's order.
Whether the officer who shot and killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo is publicly held accountable for the teen’s death depends on whether the Chicago City Council votes this week to reaffirm their rejection of an effort to upend the system used for 60 years to punish officers.
The probe by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability concluded that two Chicago Police lieutenants “may have directed an improper campaign of harassment” against Pete Czosnyka “in retaliation for the exercise of his First Amendment rights.”
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability will launch its second People’s Academy — a six-week training course that’s open to the public and gives an in-depth look at some of the office’s operations, such as complaint investigations, body-worn camera video analysis and disciplinary recommendations.
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There is no evidence that any Chicago police officer had sexual contact with any of the migrants forced to sleep on the floor of the stations after arriving in Chicago from the southern border, the head of the agency charged with investigating police misconduct announced Friday.
Local organizations are demanding answers from the Chicago Police Department amid allegations that officers at the Ogden (10th) Police District headquarters had sexual relations with migrants.
Days after sexual misconduct accusations were made against Chicago police officers in the 10th District involving migrants, interim Police Superintendent Fred Waller said migrants who remain housed at various police stations need more permanent accommodations.
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Investigators are probing allegations that more than one officer assigned to a West Side police station had sexual contact with at least one of the migrants forced to sleep on the floor of the station, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability confirmed.
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Chicago Police Sgt. Michael Vitellaro, who was stripped of his police powers after being charged, still faces discipline as a result of a probe of the incident by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which was completed in March.
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The board in a 5-3 vote Thursday moved to terminate Sgt. Alex Wolinski, finding that he committed multiple rule violations and a “failure of leadership … so serious as to be incompatible with continued service.”
 

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