WHEREAS, The Chicago Police Department has acted in a manner that has damaged the trust given to it by millions of Chicago residents; and
WHEREAS, The Police Accountability Task Force appointed by Mayor Emanuel found that African-Americans were disproportionately stopped, injured, and killed by Chicago Police Officers; and
WHEREAS, The Police Accountability Task Force made over 100 recommendations, specifically citing lack of accountability as a critical area that needed to be addressed; and
WHEREAS, The United States Department of Justice found that the Chicago Police Department "engaged in a pattern or practice of unreasonable force - including deadly force -in violation of the Fourth Amendment ofthe Constitution"; and
WHEREAS, The United States Department of Justice found that excessive force was used disproportionally on communities of color; and
WHEREAS, Both the United States Department of Justice and the Police Accountability Task Force recommended reforming the collective bargaining agreements between the police unions and the City of Chicago since they contributed to the lack of accountability; and
WHEREAS, The police union collective bargaining agreement for Sergeants, Captains, and Lieutenants is currently being negotiated; and
WHEREAS, The agreement, as currently written, makes it easy for officers to lie, and difficult for misconduct to be identified or investigated; and
WHEREAS, The Coalition for Accountability in Police Contracts has made specific recommendations to reform the agreements, which include recommendations made by the Police Accountability Task Force; and
WHEREAS, Many communities, particularly African-American communities, demand that police officers that cross the line are held accountable; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this eighteenth day of March, 2020, do hereby:
(1) Call upon Mayor Lori Lightfoot to publicly endorse the following reforms to the police union...
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