The below statement can be attributed to Rachel Murphy, Police Practices Project Staff Attorney, ACLU of Illinois:
"It is unacceptable that, yet again, the Chicago Police Department ignored the voice of community members in the process of bringing real change to the City’s broken policing system. Excessive use of force by police has killed and harmed people across the City and cost millions of dollars to taxpayers over many years. After years of abuse, CPD cannot be trusted to fix this policy on its own.
As Mayor Lightfoot and Superintendent Brown both stated, the purpose of the Use of Force Community Working Group was to bring community members to the table to partner with CPD in revising and improving use of force policies. We were proud to serve with many members from neighborhoods and organizations across Chicago, whose range of lived experience and professional expertise resulted in a comprehensive set of recommendations to dramatically reform when and how CPD officers can use force.
But instead of drawing on the Working Group’s knowledge and perspectives to reflect the way forward, CPD ignored and dismissed the input of the group. CPD adopted a few symbolic changes to language, but rejected dozens of substantive recommendations related to de-escalating incidents, limiting the situations in which force can be used, respecting the dignity of those harmed by the police, and improving reporting and investigation processes.
The Mayor and the Superintendent made clear when the Working Group was established that they welcomed input. Not even hearing that input further destroys public trust and sets back police reform in our city."
