Craig Futterman on the Firing of 7 Chicago Police Officers over the Laquan McDonald Cover-Up
From The New York Times:
Craig B. Futterman, a University of Chicago law professor who directs a civil rights and police accountability project at the law school, said the move to fire the officers was a start.
“This is an important and necessary step,” he said. “But it can’t be a oneoff. It has to be a consistent practice that if you lie, you are fired. The sad fact is that lying has become a regular and entrenched practice when police misconduct occurs, and disciplining or firing officers for engaging in that practice has rarely happened.”
From the Chicago Sun-Times:
“It’s one thing to say that lying and false statements are prohibited. It’s another thing to walk the talk. That’s the challenge. It’s having a consistent policy of, when officers lie in a misconduct investigation, they’ll be fired. If they retaliate against a fellow officer for providing truthful information, they’ll also be fired and referred for criminal prosecution. That’s the way to end the code of silence in Chicago,” Futterman said.
“Everyone is watching now. The real test is what happens when everyone isn’t watching. What fundamentally are the core values of the department? Are they going to stand for integrity — not just when the cameras are on, but in everyday operations? That will ultimately determine whether the department and city officials will earn the trust of the Chicago community.”