An audit by Inspector General Deborah Witzburg reveals the Chicago Police Department has allowed more than 100 officers who filed false reports to stay on the job. Some were even promoted after being found to have lied.
Inspector General
The audit documented a lack of accountability that undermines efforts to rebuild trust in the Chicago Police Department, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said.
“It is an absurd denial that lacks human generosity,” journalist Jamie Kalven said.
The Chicago Police Department spent at least $210.5 million on overtime, 56% more than in 2021 and more than double the $100 million earmarked for police overtime set by the Chicago City Council as part of the city’s 2022 budget, according to data obtained by WTTW News.
“Seven years, and we still don’t have the answers. We still don’t know what happened to my son. Seven years, I’m still fighting, trying to find the truth.”
Officer Robert Bakker returned to full duty Wednesday, two weeks after members of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee demanded that Chicago Police Department officials do more to weed out extremists from the department’s ranks.
Members of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee demanded that the leaders of the Chicago Police Department do more to weed out extremists from the department’s ranks.
A spokesperson for the Jesús “Chuy” García campaign told WTTW News the ad was revised out of an “abundance of caution.”
Deputy Inspector General Amber Nesbitt said her office has seen a rise in the number of district schools, charter schools and vendors that have launched investigations into sexual misconduct allegations without contacting the inspector general or CPS.
Twice in the past three months, probes by the city’s watchdog have uncovered ties between members of the Chicago Police Department and far-right extremist groups that have clashed with the United States government.
Chicago Police Officer Who Admitted Being a Member of the Oath Keepers Won’t Be Fired: City Watchdog
The Oath Keepers organization is considered by the FBI to be a “large but loosely organized collection of individuals, some who are associated with militias” who have vowed to “not obey unconstitutional (and thus illegal) and immoral orders.”
Allowing the man to return to work as a Chicago police officer will “create an environment of impunity for other officers who may associate with violent groups and contribute to the erosion of trust between the public and law enforcement authorities,” according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said he had “zero tolerance” for police officers who are members of hate groups or associate with members of hate groups.
Both Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Police Supt. David Brown have defended the decision to not to terminate the officer. The officer was “thoroughly investigated” and “given a lengthy period of suspension,” Lightfoot said.
During the Chicago Police Department’s annual budget hearing, under intense questioning from members of the Chicago City Council, Brown said he had “zero tolerance” for police officers who are members of hate groups or associate with members of hate groups.
The FBI labeled the Proud Boys as an antisemitic white supremacy organization and several current and former members of the Proud Boys have been charged with seditious conspiracy for their role in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.
