| Chicago Police Department | |
| Abbreviation | CPD |
| Shoulder sleeve patch for patrolmen and detectives | |
| Motto | We Serve and Protect |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1855 |
| Employees | 15,250 (2008) |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | City of Chicago in the state of Illinois, USA |
| Size | 237 sq mi (606.2 km²) |
| Population | 2,853,114 (2008 est.) |
| Legal jurisdiction | City of Chicago |
| Governing body | Chicago City Council |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | 3510 South Michigan Avenue Chicago |
| Officers | 13,500 (2010) |
| Unsworn members | 1,925 (2010) |
| Agency executive | Garry F. McCarthy[1], Superintendent of Police |
| Bureaus |
4
|
| Facilities | |
| Districts |
25
|
| Website | |
| Official site | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the United States behind the New York City Police Department. It has over 13,500 sworn officers and over 1,925 other employees.[2] Dating back to 1837, the Chicago Police Department is one of the oldest modern police forces in the world.
The Superintendent of Police leads the Chicago Police Department. With the assistance of the First Deputy Superintendent, the Superintendent manages six bureaus, each commanded by a Bureau Chief.
Jody P. Weis was sworn in as Superintendent of Police on February 1, 2008. Weis became only the second Chicago police superintendent to come from outside of the city. He replaced Philip J. Cline, who officially retired on August 3, 2007. Weis' contract expired on 1 March 2011. Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed Cline's predecessor, Terry Hillard, on an interim basis. Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed Garry F. McCarthy, former director of the Newark, New Jersey, Police Department, as a permanent successor and was approved by the City Council on June 8, 2011.[3] McCarthy is the highest paid city employee with an annual salary of $260,004.[4]
As of August 2011, the six Bureaus of the Department are:
There are twenty-five police districts, each led by a Commander who oversees his or her district. Commanders report to Area Deputy Chiefs, who report to the respective Area Chief of Patrol, who report to the Bureau Chief of Patrol.
In 1960, the municipal government created a five-member police board charged with nominating a superintendent to be the chief authority over police officers, drafting and adopting rules and regulations governing the police system, submitting budget requests to the city council, and hearing and deciding disciplinary cases involving police officers.[6] Criminologist O.W. Wilson was brought on as Superintendent of Police, and served until 1967 when he retired.[7]
Investigative functions are under the Bureau of Investigative Services (BIS). The Bureau of Investigative Services is composed of the Detective Division, the Counterterrorism and Intelligence Division and the Organized Crime Division (OCD). The Detective Division includes the five Area Detective Divisions, the Cold Case Unit, Fugitive Apprehension Unit, Major Accidents Investigation Section and the Forensic Services Section which includes the Mobile Crime Lab of Forensic Investigators, ET-North and ET-South—which are the two Evidence Technician Units. The Counterterrorism and Intelligence Division includes the Deployment Operations Center Section, the Intelligence Section, the Airport Law Enforcement Section, the Public Transportation Section, and the Bomb and Arson Section. The Organized Crime Division includes the Narcotics Section, Gang Investigations Section, Gang Enforcement Section, Vice Control Section, and the Asset Forfeiture Unit.
The Chief of Detectives heads the Detective Division, the Chief of Organized Crime heads that division—both reporting to the Deputy Superintendent BIS. Two Deputy Chiefs assist the Chief of Detectives while one Deputy Chief assists the Chief of OCD.
The city is covered by five Detective Division Areas each led by a Commander: Area 1 (Wentworth) and Area 2 (Calumet) covers the south and southwest sides, while Area 3 (Belmont), Area 4 (Harrison) and Area 5 (Grand Central) covers the north, west and northwest sides of the city.
The Bureau of Patrol includes the twenty-five districts. Also included in the Bureau of Patrol are the Special Functions Group, the Targeted Response Unit, the Marine/Helicopter Unit, the Mounted Unit, the Mobile Strike Force, SWAT, the Traffic Section, and the Canine Unit
Following the disbanding of the Special Operations Section in 2007 after much negative publicity and controversies, the Special Functions Group was formed to absorb the specialized units that were not associated with the controversial plain-clothes unit known informally as SOS. A full-time SWAT team, organized in 2005, includes 70 members. The dignitary protection unit, based out of O'Hare International Airport, is the only unit that utilizes two-wheeled motorcycles. The Mounted Unit maintains 30 horses as of December 2006. The marine unit maintains nine boats; these bear an angled rendering of the Chicago City Flag at the bow, patterned after the United States Coast Guard "racing stripe".
| Title | Insignia | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Superintendent of Police | ||
| First Deputy Superintendent | ||
| Chief | Since September 8, 2011 | |
| Deputy Chief | Since September 8, 2011 | |
| Commander | ||
| Captain | ||
| Lieutenant | ||
| Sergeant | ||
| Field Training Officer | Field Training Officers wear one chevron over one rocker, with "FTO" in the center of the insignia, but are not considered ranking officers. | |
| Police Officer/Assigned Detective | Chicago detectives are not considered ranking officers, but rather officers assigned to specialized units, i.e. violent crimes, robbery, gang and narcotics, etc. (Unless they hold the rank of Sergeant or above.) | |
| Police Officer | Police Officers are the first ranking officers. They do patrol and go on emergency calls. |
| Title | Insignia | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Assistant Deputy Superintendent | No Longer a CPD rank since September 8, 2011 |
Chicago's five-pointed star-shaped badge (referred to as a "star" instead of a "badge" in the vernacular of the department) also changes to reflect the different ranks of officers. The stars of most Chicago Police officers (patrolmen through captain) are of silver-colored metal, with broad points. Command ranks have gold-colored stars with sharp points. A ring surrounding the full-color city seal in the star's center changes color for each rank within these two classifications. Like most American police forces, the officer's rank is written in an arc above the center element.
The Chicago Police Department's shoulder sleeve insignia, worn on the top of the left sleeve, is unusual in two regards.
Service longevity is reflected just above the left cuff on most long-sleeved uniforms. Five years of service are indicated by a horizontal bar, embroidered in gold-colored thread; ten years by two bars; fifteen by three bars; twenty by a five-pointed star, embroidered in gold colored thread; twenty-five by one star and one bar and so-forth.
An embroidered rendering of the flag of Chicago, its borders finished in gold-colored thread, is worn on the right shoulder sleeve.
A two-part nameplate in gold-colored metal is worn above the right pocket. The upper portion bears the officer's name; the lower portion indicates the command to which the officer is assigned.
The Chicago Police Department is one of only a handful of police agencies in the United States to use the checkered bands on its headgear, known as the Sillitoe Tartan after its originator, Percy Sillitoe, Chief Constable of Glasgow, Scotland in the 1930s. Where British, Australian and New Zealand Sillitoe tartans feature three rows of smaller squares, Chicago's has two rows of larger squares. The checkerboard colors for patrolmen, detectives, dogs and horses are blue and white; the colors for sergeants and higher ranks are blue and gold. Service caps, the campaign hats of the mounted unit, bicycle helmets, knit caps, dog collars, and horse browbands all bear the Sillitoe tartan; the edge of the ball caps' bills show a narrow, flattened Silitoe tartan. The department also uses the pattern on some signage, graphics, and architectural detail on newer police stations.
Starting salary for Chicago police officers in 2007 was $43,104, increased to $60,918 after one year and an additional increase to $64,374 after 18 months. Promotions to specialized or command positions also increases an officer's base pay. Salaries were supplemented with a $3,020 annual duty availability and an $1,800 annual uniform allowance.[8]
The Chicago Police Department is often credited for advancing community policing through the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy program. It was established in 1992 and implemented in 1993 by then-Chicago Police Superintendent Matt L. Rodriguez. CAPS is an ongoing effort to bring communities, police, and other city agencies together to prevent crimes rather than react to crimes after they happen. The program entails increasing police presence in individual communities with a force of neighborhood-based beat officers. Beat Community Meetings are held regularly for community members and police officials to discuss potential problems and strategies.
Under CAPS, eight or nine beat officers are assigned to each of Chicago's 279 police beats. The officers patrol the same beat for over a year, allowing them to get to know community members, residents, and business owners and to become familiar with community attitudes and trends. The system also allows for those same community members to get to know their respective officers and learn to be comfortable in approaching them for help when needed. Beat officers are fully equipped and patrol their neighborhoods in a variety of methods: by bike, by car, or by foot.
In 1825, prior to the creation of Cook County, what is now Chicago was in Putnam County.[10] Archibald Clybourn was appointed to be Constable of the area between the DuPage River and Lake Michigan. Clybourn went on to become an important citizen of the city, and the diagonal Clybourn Avenue is named after him.[11] When the town of Chicago was incorporated to become a city in 1837, provisions were made to elect an officer called the High Constable. He in turn would appoint a Common Constable from each of the six city wards. In 1855, the newly elected city council passed ordinances to formally establish the Chicago Police Department. Chicago was divided into three police precincts, each served by a station house. Station No. 1 was located in a building on State Street between Lake and Randolph streets. Station No. 2 was on West Randolph Street near Des Plaines Street. Station No. 3 was on Michigan Street (since then renamed Hubbard Street[12]) near Clark Street. In 1860, the detective forces were established to investigate and solve crimes.
In 1861, the Illinois General Assembly passed a law creating a police board to become an executive department of Chicago autonomous of the mayor. The mayor was effectively stripped of his power to control the Chicago Police Department. Authority was given to three police commissioners. The commissioners created the office of superintendent to be the chief of police. The title is again in use today.
In 1875, the Illinois General Assembly found that the police commissioners were unable to control rampant corruption within the Chicago Police Department. The legislature passed a new law returning power over the police to the mayor. The mayor was allowed to appoint a single police commissioner with the advice and consent of the city council.
Despite centralized policies and practices, the captains who ran the precincts or districts were relatively independent of headquarters, owing their jobs to neighborhood politicians. Decentralization meant that police could respond to local concerns, but graft often determined which concerns got most attention.
Political connections were important to joining the force; formal requirements were few until 1895. After 1856, the department hired many foreign-born recruits, especially unskilled but English-speaking Irish immigrants. The first African American officer was appointed in 1872, but black police were assigned to duty in plain clothes only, mainly in largely black neighborhoods. Women entered the force in 1885 as matrons, caring for female prisoners. Marie Owens is believed to have been the first female police officer in the U.S., joining the Chicago Police Department in 1891, retiring in 1923. Holding the rank of Sergeant, Owens enforced child labor and welfare laws.[13] “Policewomen” were formally appointed beginning in 1913, to work with women and children. In 1895, Chicago adopted civil service procedures, and written tests became the basis for hiring and promotion. Standards for recruits rose, though policing remained political.[14]
Since 1853, The Chicago Police Department has lost 510 officers in the line of duty.[15] By custom, the department retires the stars of fallen officers and mounts them in a display case at Police Headquarters.
Over the years, the Chicago Police Department has been the subject of a number of scandals, police misconduct and other controversies:
The Chicago Police Department did not face large-scale reorganization efforts until 1960 under Mayor Richard J. Daley. That year, eight officers from the Summerdale police district on Chicago's North Side were accused of operating a large-scale burglary ring. The Summerdale case dominated the local press, and became the biggest police-related scandal the city's history at the time. Mayor Daley appointed a committee to make recommendations for improvements to the police department. The action resulted in the creation of a five-member board charged with nominating a superintendent to be the chief authority over police officers, enacting rules and regulations governing the police system, submitting budget requests to the city council, and overseeing disciplinary cases involving officers.[6] Criminologist O.W. Wilson was brought on as Superintendent of Police, and served until 1967 when he retired.[7]
Both Daley and the Chicago Police Department faced a great deal of criticism for the department's actions during the 1968 Democratic National Convention, which was held in Chicago from August 26 to August 29, 1968.
The convention was site of a series of protests, mainly over the war in Vietnam. Despite the poor behavior of some protesters, there was widespread criticism that the Chicago Police and National Guard used excessive force. Time published an article stating;
With billy clubs, tear gas and Mace, the blue-shirted, blue-helmeted cops violated the civil rights of countless innocent citizens and contravened every accepted code of professional police discipline. No one could accuse the Chicago cops of discrimination. They savagely attacked hippies, yippies, New Leftists, revolutionaries, dissident Democrats, newsmen, photographers, passers-by, clergymen and at least one handicapped. Winston Churchill's journalist grandson got roughed up. Even Dan Rather (the future CBS news anchor) who was on the floor doing a report during the convention got roughed up by the Chicago Police Department. Playboy's Hugh Hefner took a whack on the backside. The police even victimized a member of the British Parliament, Mrs. Anne Kerr, a vacationing Laborite who was Maced outside the Conrad Hilton and hustled off to the lockup.[16]
Subsequently, the Walker Report to the U.S. National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence called the police response a "police riot," assigning blame for the mayhem in the streets to the Chicago Police.
On December 4, 1969, Black Panther Party leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were shot and killed by officers working for the Cook County state's attorney. Though the police claimed they had been attacked by heavily armed Panthers, subsequent investigation showed that most bullets fired came from police weapons. Relatives of the two dead men eventually won a multimillion-dollar judgment against the city. For many African Americans, the incident symbolized prejudice and lack of restraint among the largely white police. The incident led to growing black voter disaffection with the Democratic machine.[14]
On January 20, 1989, Chicago Police violent crimes and veteran Detective Phillip Murphy, 54, shot his wife, Roberta, in the head with his police service revolver, a .44 magnum, killing her.[17] He covered her face with a towel and then locked himself in a bedroom and fatally shot himself in the forehead. Their daughter, Susan Murphy-Milano, now an author and violent crimes advocate for women,[18] discovered their bodies and, afterward, vowed to fight for the rights of victims of domestic violence.[19]
On July 28, 1998, 11-year-old girl, Ryan Harris, was found raped and murdered in a vacant lot in the city's Englewood neighborhood. The homicide caught the nation's attention when, 12 days after Ryan's body was found, authorities, with the blessing of police command, charged a 7-year-old boy and 8-year-old boy with the murder, making them the youngest murder suspects in the nation at the time.[20] Semen found at the scene and subsequent DNA tests cleared the boys of the crime and pointed to convicted sex offender Floyd Durr. The boys each filed lawsuits against the city, which were eventually settled for millions of dollars. Durr pled guilty to the rape of Harris, but never admitted to her murder.[21]
In the summer of 1999, two unarmed black motorists, Robert Russ and LaTanya Haggerty, were both fatally shot in separate incidents involving the Chicago Police. In the first incident, Russ, a football player for Northwestern University, was shot inside of his car after a high-speed chase which culminated in a struggle with a police officer. In the second, Haggarty, a computer analyst, was shot by a female officer. Charges of racism against the CPD persisted, despite the fact that officers in both incidences were also black. Both shootings resulted in lawsuits and Haggerty's family reached an $18 million settlement with the city.[22]
Perhaps no other incident exemplifies abuse concerns by Chicago Police officers more than the allegations against former Cmdr. Jon Burge, who has been accused of abusing more than two-hundred mostly African-American men from 1972 to 1991 in order to coerce confessions to crimes.[23] Alleged victims claimed that Burge and his crew of detectives had them beaten, suffocated, burned, and treated with electric shock. In 1993, Burge was fired from the department, and is currently collecting his police pension. In summer 2006, special prosecutors assigned to probe the allegations determined that they had enough evidence to prove crimes against Burge and others, but "regrettably" could not bring charges because the statute of limitations had passed.[23] In January 2008, the City Council approved a $19.8 million settlement with four men who claimed abuse against Burge and his men.[24]
In October 2008, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, had Burge arrested on charges of obstruction of justice and perjury in relation to a civil suit regarding the torture allegations against him. Burge was eventually convicted on all counts on June 28, 2010 and was sentenced to four and one half years in federal prison on January 21, 2011.
On November 19, 2002, Rachelle Jackson, a registered nurse, was on her way to work when she witnessed a vehicle accident involving a patrol car, which Officer Kelly Brogan was dazed and her partner was unconscious. Fearing an explosion, Jackson removed both officers from the vehicle, and voluntarily went to the police station under the assumption of giving a statement after being informed that Brogan's service weapon was stolen. Instead she was interrogated for two days with little food, sleep, and was coerced to sign a statement that she has battered and robbed Brogan of her gun. She was jailed for 10 months before the charges were dismissed. Jackson was awarded $7.9 million from a jury in her lawsuit against Brogan and the city. In 2009, the amount was reduced to $1.9 million.
In a similar case, in 2009, nurse Lisa Hoffman was on-duty when a police officer brought in a suspected DUI driver and demanded a blood test. Because the individual was not admitted as a patient, Hoffman had to consult her supervisor as proper procedure. According to Hoffman, the officer then became combative and argued with her to the point security had to remove him. He returned moments later, placed her in handcuffs and kept her in his patrol car for over 45 minutes, and was even seen smiling on the surveillance camera as she was kept in the vehicle. She sued the officer and city for false arrest and excessive force due to that her wrists were bruised from the handcuffs. The city settled for $78,000. The Chicago police never reported any disciplinary action against the officer.
In 2007, security camera footage surfaced of an intoxicated off-duty police officer, Anthony Abbate, kicking and beating a female bartender, Karolina Obrycka. Abbate was shown in the video beating and kicking Obrycka at Jesse's Shortstop Inn on February 19, 2007, after Obrycka refused to serve him any more alcohol. Abbate was later arrested, charged with felony battery, and stripped of police powers after television news stations aired the footage. The Chicago Police soon terminated Abbate from the force, but questions remained over the city's handling of the case.[25]
Further controversy arose when Abbate was allowed to enter his courtroom hearing through a side door, in order to shield himself from the press. This was apparently with help of the Grand Central District officers who were on-duty at the time, and acting on the orders of a CPD Captain. Allegations surfaced that the police ticketed the vehicles of news organizations and threatened reporters with arrest. In the wake of this, Superintendent Cline announced that he would demote the Captain who gave the orders, and launch investigations into the actions of the other officers involved.[26]
On April 27, 2007, 14 additional charges against Abbate were announced. These included official misconduct, conspiracy, intimidation, and speaking with a witness.[27] Abbate pled not guilty to all 15 charges during a brief hearing on May 16, 2007.[28]
Referring to Anthony Abbate, Superintendent Phil Cline stated, "He's tarnished our image worse than anybody else in the history of the department."[29] The video of the attack has been viewed worldwide on 24-hour news channels and has garnered more than 100,000 views on YouTube. In the wake of this scandal and another similar scandal involving another videotaped police beating at a bar, Cline announced his retirement on April 2, 2007. While both men have denied it, some believe that Cline retired under pressure from Mayor Richard M. Daley.[30] Daley has since announced a plan to create an independent police review authority to replace the current Office of Professional Standards, which is under the jurisdiction of the police department.[31]
On April 30, 2007 a lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against the City of Chicago and Abbate and several other individuals by attorneys representing Obrycka.[32]
Abbate was convicted of aggravated battery, a felony, on June 2, 2009. Cook County Circuit Judge John J. Fleming rejected Abbate's claims that he had acted in self defense. However, since Obrycka testified that Abbate had not identified himself as an officer during the attack Abbate was acquitted of official misconduct charges. Abbate faced up to five years in prison for the attack. On June 23, 2009, Abbate received two years probation including a curfew between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., mandatory attendance at anger management classes, and 130 hours of community service.[33]
On December 15, 2009, Abbate was officially fired from the CPD after a mandatory review by the Chicago Civilian Police Board.[34] The firing was a simple formality, as the CPD does not allow convicted felons to serve on the force.
Jerome Finnigan, Keith Herrera, Carl Suchocki, and Thomas Sherry were indicted in September 2007 for robbery, kidnapping, home invasion, and other charges. They were alleged to have robbed drug dealers and ordinary citizens of money, drugs, and guns. The officers were all part of Special Operations Sections (SOS). The officers had allegedly victimized citizens for years, however it was not until 2004 that allegations of misconduct were investigated. According to the State's Attorney, the tip off was that the officers repeatedly missed court dates and allowed alleged drug dealers to go free. Several lawsuits alleging misconduct on behalf of Finnigan and his team have been filed in federal court. Since the original indictments, Jerome Finnigan has also been charged with attempting to have several fellow officers killed. Since the scandal involving Finnigan, SOS has since been disbanded.
On February 11, 2009, charges against Chicago Police Department officers Tom Sherry and Carl Suchocki were dropped. A Cook County judge dismissed all criminal charges accusing them of robbery and home invasion after some evidence was proven to be false, and witnesses in the case against Sherry and Suchocki were unable to place the officers at the scene of the crime. Charges against Herrera and Finnigan, however, are still pending. As of September 25, 2009, seven former SOS officers have pled guilty to charges relating to the SOS scandal. The investigation is ongoing as police officers continue to come forward and cooperate with the state and federal investigation.[35][36][37] [38][39]
The Chicago Police Department became unionized at the end of 1980.[40] The move caused controversy as city officials resisted the move as long as it could. The police department is currently a member of the Fraternal Order of Police.
All Chicago Police officers must buy their own duty gear. This includes a uniform, sidearm, handcuffs, light, baton, etc. Each officer receives an annual uniform allowance of $1,800 to do so.
The sidearm must meet the following requirements:
Officers who were in the department before 1996 may keep their old DA/SA or SAO pistols, as well as their Smith and Wesson or Ruger revolvers in .38 Special. Recruits choose Springfield Armory, Smith and Wesson, or Glock pistols. They must be chambered in 9 mm until the recruit's 18-month probationary period is over.
|
|||||||||||||||