Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project Files New Lawsuit For Laquan McDonald Records

Journalist suing CPD for refusing to release McDonald records

On Nov. 11, 2016, Kalven made a FOIA request for the records of the 11 completed investigations by the Office of the Inspector General of Chicago police officers involved in the cover-up of the shooting of Laquan McDonald by Jason Van Dyke provided to the department, along with any attachments, according to the lawsuit.

CPD denied the request, citing Illinois FOIA exemptions of documents “of any lawfully created State or local inspector general’s office that would be exempt if created or obtained by an Executive Inspector General’s office under the Act,” according to the lawsuit.

However, Kalven’s lawsuit claims the denial was improper because the act was not meant to cover investigative reports. The Illinois Court of Appeals has ruled that a public body’s records of completed investigations into police misconduct are not exempt.

“The CPD’s denial is based on a misreading of the relevant law,” Craig Futterman, who is representing Kalven in the lawsuit, said in a statement. “The IG reports, now in the possession of the CPD, are the equivalent of closed IPRA investigations. Under Kalven v. Chicago, they are public information.”

Read more at Chicago Sun-Times