Chicago officers faulted for misconduct went unpunished after their cases got lost in the system
Some Chicago police officers who were ordered suspended based on findings of misconduct didn’t comply with their punishment because authorities lost track of their cases, according to a newspaper investigation.
Their cases represent “a stunning breakdown of the city’s police disciplinary system,” the Chicago Tribune reports. “Guilty, but forgotten, the officers and their cases languished in a sort of disciplinary purgatory as officials failed to ensure that the punishments were meted out. It has happened in at least 14 cases, though disciplinary officials can’t say for sure there aren’t more.”
Officials were unaware of the problem until the Chicago Tribune began asking about the cases. Now the never-imposed suspensions are starting to move forward.
The lost cases included that of an officer who beat his wife, also an officer, and threatened to steal her gun; an officer who used his police powers to harass his estranged wife; and an officer “who went on a loud, expletive-laden rant about his dress shoes,” according to the article.
Typically the cases got lost in the system when an officer appealed a punishment.
