Recommendation to Reopen Chicago Police Department Misconduct Investigation

Executive Summary

Pursuant to the Municipal Code of Chicago (MCC) § 2-56-230(c)(ii), the Public Safety section of the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducts reviews of individual closed disciplinary investigations conducted by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) and the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD) Bureau of Internal Affairs (BIA). Based on those reviews, OIG may make a recommendation to reopen an investigation to address a deficiency materially affecting its outcome.

BIA investigated allegations that two CPD members failed to conduct a thorough investigation and failed to arrest a subject for violating an order of protection. In its initial Investigative Closing Report (ICR), BIA sustained both allegations against the accused members and recommended reprimands.

During its review, OIG identified a discrepancy between BIA’s findings and their written analysis. OIG found that BIA sustained the allegation that the accused members failed to arrest a subject for violating an order of protection but wrote in its ICR that it agreed with the members’ conclusion that no violation occurred, and therefore an arrest was unwarranted.