POLICE BOARD CITY OF CHICAGO DISCIPLINARY CASES QUARTERLY REPORT March 31, 2015 Police Board s Role in the Disciplinary Process The Police Board decides disciplinary cases when the Superintendent of Police files charges to discharge an officer from the Police Department, or to suspend an officer for more than thirty days. Under the current union contracts, which became effective in 2014, an officer no longer has the option of requesting Police Board review of a suspension of 30 days or fewer (except in cases in which the union decides to not advance a police officer s grievance to arbitration). Disciplinary Cases Filed with the Police Board BIA IPRA TOTAL Jan 1 - Mar 31 Jan 1 - Mar 31 Jan 1 - Mar 31 2015 2015 2015 DISCHARGE CASES # of cases filed by the Supt 0 0 0 # of cases open as of Mar 31 5 1 6 (these cases were filed in 2014) SUSPENSION CASES: > 30 DAYS # of cases filed by the Supt 0 0 0 # of cases open as of Mar 31 0 1 1 (this case was filed in 2014) BIA = Investigated by the CPD's Bureau of Internal Affairs IPRA = Investigated by the Independent Police Review Authority
Quarterly Report of Disciplinary Cases Page 2 of 6 Discharge Cases From January 1 through March 31, 2015, the Superintendent filed no cases recommending that a sworn officer be discharged from the Chicago Police Department. During this period, the Police Board decided or otherwise disposed of 8 such cases (these cases were filed prior to 2015). See below for a report of the Board s decisions, broken out by cases investigated by the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) the Police Department s Bureau of Internal Affairs (BIA). DISCHARGE CASES DECIDED: January 1 - March 31, 2015 Guilty & Guilty & Suspended Case Primary Allegation (Investigation) Discharged or Reprimanded Not Guilty Dismissed Resigned* Excessive Force--On Duty (IPRA) 0 0 0 0 0 Other On-Duty Misconduct (IPRA) 0 0 2 0 0 Domestic Altercation--Off Duty (IPRA) 0 0 0 0 0 Other Off-Duty Misconduct (IPRA) 0 0 0 0 0 Drug/Alcohol Abuse (BIA) 0 0 0 0 0 Bribery/Official Corruption (BIA) 1 0 0 0 0 Commission of a Crime (BIA) 0 0 0 0 0 Conduct Unbecoming--Off Duty (BIA) 0 0 1 0 0 Operation/Personnel Violations (e.g., false reports, medical roll, 0 0 4 0 0 insubordination, residency) (BIA) Other (BIA) 0 0 0 0 0 Total 1 0 7 0 0 *The respondent resigned prior to a hearing rather than contest the charges, and the charges were therefore withdrawn.
Quarterly Report of Disciplinary Cases Page 3 of 6 Suspension Cases: Greater Than Thirty Days From January 1 through March 31, 2015, the Superintendent filed no cases recommending that a sworn officer be suspended for greater than thirty days. During this period, the Police Board decided or otherwise disposed of 1 such case (this case was filed prior to 2015). See below for a report of the Board s decisions, broken out by cases investigated by the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) the Police Department s Bureau of Internal Affairs (BIA). SUSPENSION CASES (> 30 DAYS) DECIDED: January 1 - March 31, 2015 Guilty & Guilty & Guilty & Recommended Penalty Inc Lesser Not Charges Primary Allegation (Investigation) Penalty to Discharge Penalty Guilty Withdrawn* Excessive Force--On Duty (IPRA) 0 0 0 0 0 Other On-Duty Misconduct (IPRA) 0 0 0 0 0 Domestic Altercation--Off Duty (IPRA) 0 0 1 0 0 Other Off-Duty Misconduct (IPRA) 0 0 0 0 0 Drug/Alcohol Abuse (BIA) 0 0 0 0 0 Bribery/Official Corruption (BIA) 0 0 0 0 0 Commission of a Crime (BIA) 0 0 0 0 0 Conduct Unbecoming--Off Duty (BIA) 0 0 0 0 0 Operation/Personnel Violations (e.g., false reports, medicall roll, 0 0 0 0 0 insubordination, neglect of duty) (BIA) Other (BIA) 0 0 0 0 0 Total 0 0 1 0 0 *The Superintendent moved to withdraw the charges (for example, because the parties settled the case).
Quarterly Report of Disciplinary Cases Page 4 of 6 Time to Hearing and Decision After the Superintendent files charges and they are served on the accused officer, the officer has a right to obtain legal representation, receive discovery, and prepare a defense to the charges. An evidentiary hearing is then scheduled. Once a hearing is completed, the members of the Police Board receive and review the entire record of proceedings in preparation for their monthly meeting. The Board meets in closed session to consider the case. At the following month s public meeting, the Board will take final action on the case and adopt its written findings and decision. The Board closely monitors the amount of time needed bring disciplinary cases to hearing and decision. A fair and efficient disposition of each case is an important component of due process, and keeping delays to a minimum is a priority because the accused officer is ordinarily suspended without pay when the charges are filed. The table below shows the median amount of time from the filing of charges to a hearing and decision. Median # of days from filing of charges to first day of hearing Median # of days from filing of charges to Police Board decision Cases filed 2014 - present 129 (4.1 months) 206 (6.8 months) Data as of March 31, 2015 Suspension Cases: Six Through Thirty Days As noted above, under the current union contracts, which became effective in 2014, an officer no longer has the option of requesting Police Board review of a suspension of 30 days or fewer (except in cases in which the union decides to not advance a police officer s grievance to arbitration).
Quarterly Report of Disciplinary Cases Page 5 of 6 Appeals of Police Board Decisions Under Illinois law, the parties to a Police Board disciplinary case (the Superintendent and the accused officer) have the right to appeal the Board s decision by filing a petition for administrative review in the Circuit Court of Cook County. A party dissatisfied with the Circuit Court s review of a Police Board case may appeal to the Appellate Court of Illinois. The first section below provides data on suits in administrative review during the current year. The second section provides historical data on appeals filed since January 1, 2010. As noted above, a particular case may be reviewed at several levels; in addition, court rulings may cause the Board to issue more than one decision in the same case. The data on court decisions in the tables below pertain to final court decisions regarding the Board s original decision. Current Year Data From January 1 through March 31, 2015, 8 Police Board decisions were appealed to the Circuit Court of Cook County (all by the Superintendent). In addition, 1 Circuit Court decision was appealed to the Illinois Appellate Court (by the accused officer). Courts issued final decisions regarding 2 Police Board decisions from January 1 through March 31, 2015. Of these 2 decisions: The Circuit Court of Cook County affirmed 2 of the Board s decisions. None of these court decisions was appealed. Historical Data APPEALS FILED SINCE JANUARY 1, 2010 Total PB Decisions PB Decisions PB Cases Pending PB Decisions Upheld % Upheld Reversed % Reversed Final Court Decision* Appealed 25 86.2% 4 13.8% 22 51 *Cases (1) currently before a court, or (2) for which the time limit for appealing a court decision has not yet expired. Data as of March 31, 2015.
Quarterly Report of Disciplinary Cases Page 6 of 6 As of March 31, 2015, courts issued final decisions regarding 29 Police Board decisions appealed since January 1, 2010. Of these 29 decisions: The Circuit Court of Cook County affirmed 19 of the Board s decisions, and the Illinois Appellate Court affirmed 4 of the Board s decisions; in addition, the Circuit Court dismissed 2 appeals, leaving the Board s original decision to stand. None of these court decisions was appealed. In 2 cases, the Circuit Court reversed the Board s decision to discharge an officer and ordered it to impose a penalty less than discharge, and the Superintendent did not appeal the lesser penalty. In 1 case, the Circuit Court reversed the Board s decision to discharge an officer, and the Superintendent did not pursue an appeal. In 1 case, the Board discharged an officer, the Circuit Court s ordered the Board to impose a penalty less than discharge, and the Appellate Court affirmed the Board s order imposing a penalty less than discharge (the Superintendent did not appeal to the Appellate Court the Board s original decision to discharge the officer).