The record on that is clear: Chicago officers are rarely disciplined for misconduct, and very few receive significant disciplinary action. Under Emanuel, the city’s Independent Police Review Authority seems to have a priority of “protecting officers from any repercussions from misconduct charges,” said Craig Futterman of the University of Chicago law school.

If less “proactive” policing means fewer stop-and-frisks, it should be noted that as of last year, Chicago’s stop-and-frisk rate was four times that of New York City and similarly skewed toward black and Latino youth – an approach that was found unconstitutional in New York and challenged as unconstitutional by the ACLU here. (CPD agreed to monitor its use of stop and frisk earlier this year.)

“If they’re second-guessing that kind of behavior, they should be doing that,” London said. “They should be second-guessing a policing strategy that violates the Constitution.”

Futterman said research shows that enhancing police accountability and enhancing police effectiveness go hand in hand. “It’s the only way to build trust between police and the community,” he said.

Read more at The Chicago Reporter