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Legal fight begins over destroying CPD misconduct records
abc 7 chicago ^ | 1-11-2016 | Sarah Schulte

Posted on 01/11/2016 6:35:53 PM PST by Citizen Zed

Records of all the officers involved in the Laquan McDonald shooting case could be destroyed by 2019 if the city of Chicago enforces the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) contract.

Section 8.4 of the police union contract calls for all misconduct files to be destroyed five years after the date of the incident.

"Does that say that these police officers can go to another jurisdiction and not have their past practices looked at?" asks Renell Perry, of the NAACP. The NAACP joins a number of organizations asking for the records to be preserved.

To prevent the destruction of records dating back to 1967, including many from the Jon Burge era, members of NAACP are asking for an amendment to Illinois' Local Records Act.

"Taxpayers deserve to have records on hand. Taxpayers deserve to make sure there is good public policy is on the books," said State Rep. La Shawn Ford.

The NAACP is hoping state lawmakers move quickly because the issue is particularly time sensitive. The FOP is in the middle of a legal battle to force the city to destroy the records. The city agreed to release all files dating back to 1967 after the Illinois Appellate Court ruled that police disciplinary records are public information. That is when the police union filed a grievance saying the city must enforce the contract.

"I don't understand why a 77-year-old retirees' complaint in 1967 needs to be on a database," said FOP President Dean Angelo.

The NAACP argues if records only go back five years, there is no way to determine which officers have a pattern of complaints filed against them.

"The Department of Justice has come in to start their pattern and practices, so these records are critical for them to do their job," Perry says.

The issue will be the discussed at the Cook County Records Commission meeting on Tuesday.

On Friday, a court hearing is scheduled about the FOP legal fight to destroy the records.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: chicago; naacp; police
What would Hillary do?
1 posted on 01/11/2016 6:35:53 PM PST by Citizen Zed
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To: Citizen Zed
but get an F in diversity class in grade school and it'll follow you for the rest of your friggin life
2 posted on 01/11/2016 7:01:48 PM PST by Chode (Stand UP and Be Counted, or line up and be numbered - *DTOM* -w- NO Pity for the LAZY - Luke, 22:36)
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To: Citizen Zed

IDK, but this seems odd to me.

I’ve never lived in that state, but private businesses in “other states” have to keep all files for 7 years.

One would presume any government agency would be required to at least do the same.
Or does that state only require records to be held for 5 years?


3 posted on 01/11/2016 8:48:31 PM PST by sarasmom (TRUMP-Because there is no option to vote NONE OF THE ABOVE for the rest of them!)
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To: sarasmom; MinuteGal

I retired from a State of IL public University (UIC) and I believe we had to hold records for 3 years. At some point it might have changed to 5 years, but it was never more than 5. That was about 13 years ago. It may have changed in the interim, don’t know. It shouldn’t be more than 5 years, IMO. Otherwise it becomes like Franz Kafka’s The Tower, a bureaucratic paper chase nightmare.


4 posted on 01/11/2016 11:17:19 PM PST by flaglady47 (TRUMP ROCKS)
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