spoke digital films

Issues regarding the Chicago Police Department have taken center stage over the past several weeks here in Chicago. Important developments towards seeking justice regarding the Jon Burge torture scandal (the subject of my documentary - “Shielded Brutality”) have occurred in both the Cook County Board of Commissioners and in the Chicago City Council over the summer. Added to that list is a re-vamping of sorts of the CPD’s Office of Professional Standards (OPS), the Department’s internal affairs investigative body, in response to recent criticism.

Critics have long argued that the OPS has been ineffective in taking action against rogue police officers accused of brutality and corruption. Former Commander Jon Burge, who tortured suspects for decades, is the most notorious example of an officer savagely abusing his authority with impunity, though more recent examples exist of corrupt officers receiving only minor punishment for serious abuses. Critics of the new provision say it does not go nearly far enough in empowering the agency to act decisively and independently.

Perhaps the biggest flaw to the ordinance, say many critics, is that the OPS has been placed in direct control of the Mayor’s office. Richard M. Daley, the current Mayor of Chicago, was the State’s Attorney of Cook County during the years when Jon Burge was most actively accused of torture. In 1982, Daley (as State’s Attorney) was even directly notified by the Superintendent of Police that suspect Andrew Wilson was likely abused at the hands of Burge and his abusive co-horts. (Later evidence proved that Wilson - who killed two Chicago Police Officers - had been severely beaten, burned with a radiator, and repeatedly electroshocked by Chicago Police Officers in order to coerce his confession to the murders. Other victims of Burge’s torture, however, were innocent of the crimes for which they were tortured into signing confessions.) Daley failed to take action when presented evidence of the torture of Wilson and Burge was never investigated despite volumes of allegations against him during Daley’s tenure. In short, Daley’s record regarding issues of police abuse do not lend him a wealth of credibility in conducting oversight.

It is my opinion that a strong and vigilant OPS does much, much more to protect Police officers than it does to endanger them professionally. The few rogue officers like the Jon Burge’s of the world have done untold damage to the credibility and safety of the majority of officers who conduct themselves professionally and honestly. It is imperative for the safety of the community and the CPD itself that those officers who cross the line are able to be investigated quickly and removed and punished immediately if found guilty.