Joint Committee on Public Safety & Ethics City Council Meeting February 24, 2021
Resolution Calling for Subject-Matter Hearing(s) on CPD and the City's Response to Protests and Civil Unrest Following the Murder of George Floyd
WHEREAS, on May 25, 2020, a member of the Minneapolis Police Department murdered George Floyd by placing his knee on Mr. Floyd's neck for over eight minutes while Mr. Floyd was handcuffed and lying on the ground; and
WHEREAS, shortly after video of Mr. Floyd's murder became publicly available, protests and civil unrest occurred throughout Chicago and across the United States; and
WHEREAS, in June 2020, the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the federal Independent Monitoring Team (IMT) launched a joint inquiry into the City of Chicago's response to protests and civil unrest that occurred in late May and early June following Mr. Floyd's murder; and
WHEREAS, on February 18, 2021, OIG issued its Report on Chicago's Response lo George Floyd Protests and Unrest; and
WHEREAS, this Report was based on a fulsome review of the period between May 29 and June 7, 2020, which included over 70 interviews with representatives from the Chicago Police Department (CPD), other city departments, and external partner agencies, as well as an analysis of video footage and thousands of official reports and other documents; and
WHEREAS, the Report found that CPD was unprepared to deal with the volume of arrests—approximately 1,500—over the 10-day period that was analyzed. As a result, certain arrestees were held without sufficient justification, certain arrestees were charged with offenses either more or less serious that their actual conduct may have warranted, and the safety of both officers and arrestees was reduced; and
WHEREAS, the Report found that rank-and-file members were often confused about whether and when they were required to complete a Tactical Response Report following a use-of-force incident. Moreover, officers underreported...
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