Craig Futterman: 'To Truly Reform Police, Give IPRA the Boot'

To Truly Reform Police, Give IPRA the Boot

The release of the video of the killing of Laquan McDonald lifted the curtain on Chicago’s code of silence and revealed an astounding lack of police accountability throughout the city.

For months, the mayor has attempted to answer calls for reform. He fired the police superintendent, and has now anointed a new chief, spurning the three candidates offered by the Police Board. He also created an accountability task force — whose members he appointed. And the mayor appointed a new head of the Independent Police Review Authority, or IPRA, the agency that investigates police shootings, allegations of excessive force and other misconduct. The people of Chicago need more than a string of new mayoral appointments to achieve real police accountability to the community.

The City Council’s Black Caucus brought a successful petition to the U.S. Department of Justice for a civil rights pattern and practice investigation, which highlighted IPRA’s central role in facilitating Chicago’s police code of silence. After bringing the problem to light, the City Council now has the chance to be a part of the solution. Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th) has announced that she is introducing an ordinance that will abolish IPRA and replace it with a truly independent and empowered citizen body to conduct high quality investigations into police misconduct that are fully transparent and accountable to the entire community. This is real reform.

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