“It is an absurd denial that lacks human generosity,” journalist Jamie Kalven said.

“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.”

Sharell Brown, 26, was shot and killed during a confrontation with police officers who stopped him in Lawndale. Brown was shot four times in the head and twice in his right arm, according to the investigation of the incident by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, known as COPA.

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.

Starting in May, each of Chicago’s 22 police districts will be overseen by a three-person council as part of an effort to rebuild trust in the Police Department, which is governed by a court order requiring city leaders to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers.

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.

As the consent decree prepares to enter its fourth year, progress has been anything but rapid, with the city in full compliance with 3% of its requirements, according to data released by the Chicago Police Department. Meanwhile, the future of Chicago policing has taken center stage in the mayoral race. 

Voters will elect three-member councils for each of the city's 22 police districts. Those councils will be charged with holding regular meetings and bringing concerns and recommendations from community members to the city and police leadership.

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.

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 taxpayers will pay $1.2 million to settle three lawsuits claiming Chicago police officers committed a wide range of misconduct, including handcuffing an 8-year-old boy for more than 40 minutes during a raid of his family’s home.

Cook County prosecutors are enacting new changes to an existing search warrant policy this month, with an aim at improving communication and accountability while eliminating mistaken raids at incorrect locations.

According to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, Cook County Judge Joseph Claps issued the verdict Tuesday in the bench trial of Officer Melvina Bogard, who was charged last year with the nonfatal shooting of Ariel Roman inside the Grand Red Line station.

The Chicago City Council is set to pay $5.8 million to resolve three lawsuits alledging misconduct by Chicago Police officers.

The Chicago City Council’s Public Safety Committee voted 4-10 to reject the proposal introduced by Alds. Maria Hadden (49th Ward) and Pat Dowell (3rd Ward) eight months ago.