[remote or in person] Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability
Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability
Criminal Justice
Thursday, April 25, 2024
6:30 p.m. — 8:00 p.m. CDT
8000 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, Illinois Chicago, IL (Directions)
St. James Community Church, PLEASE NOTE: LOCATION CHANGE
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Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team
Note-taking by
Khalil Dennis
Pretextual traffic stops, Violence interruptors, Dexter Reed
Live reporting by
Chitra Iyer
Pretextual traffic stops, Violence interruptors, Dexter Reed
Chitra Iyer
@ChittyIyer
Good evening Chicago! I'll be covering tonight's @CCPSA_Chicago Public Meeting for @CHIdocumenters
#CHIdocumenters, 6:30pm at St. James Community Church.
#CHIdocumenters, 6:30pm at St. James Community Church.
06:32 PM Apr 25, 2024 CDT
The meeting has now been called to order at 6:33pm, with 6/7 members present and quorum met. The meeting begins now with a period for public commentary.
Formed in July 2021 by a Chicago City Council ordinance creating a new model for community oversight and accountability of the CPD, beset by decades of scandals, misconduct and brutality. The CCPSA is tasked with restoring public trust in CPD
chicago.gov/city/en/depts/…
David Orlikoff (14th Dist) District Council member, commenting virtually, urges the commission to end pretextual traffic stops especially after Dexter Reed murder. 1) because this is the modern equivalent of stop and frisk 2) doesn’t improve safety 3) it's racially discriminatory
Matt Beesley is is a police officer who is glad that pretextual stops have been brought up. He mentions the Click it Or Ticket program, and claims that this makes the concept of “pretextual stops” patently false because they exist to ensure safety, as checkpoints for seat belts
He also wants to talk about ShotSpotter; brings up the two police officers that have died in the past year, and that both shootings were recorded by the ShotSpotter technology
southsideweekly.com/shotspotter-so…
5th District Council member Robert McKay mentions the consent decree, and the fact that CPD is only 5% compliant. He reads out the consent decree, but runs out of time before finishing his comment
Vondale Singleton is the founder of CHAMPS- more information below.
He wants to encourage organizations to come together & focus on youth safety, esp. pertaining to young men of color, as summer approaches.
About CHAMPS
champsmentoring.com/who-we-are/
He wants to encourage organizations to come together & focus on youth safety, esp. pertaining to young men of color, as summer approaches.
About CHAMPS
"As we look at funds dispersed to preventing violence, lets focus on intervening even before the tragedy happens."
Commenter Sidney Brooks has given a year to this process, but is frustrated; "This is designed for accountability- but how can you organize w the community when the district commander doesn’t attend his own meetings?"
"They make strategic plans, but half the people, including the commander, don’t even know what it is."
Activist Troy Gaston expresses appreciation for Commissioner Terry, that he has seen him most consistently at these meetings, but "Beth and Cliff, we don’t know y’all- you don’t seem to want to have a relationship with the community."
"We need whatever power y’all have, to take a look at what’s happening on the ground with violence, black men and the police. This needs to be studied- it’s a pandemic!"
Christopher Ramos is Latinx/community organizer on behalf of access living (LINK), speaking on Impact for Equity's Traffic Stops Data 2023 report,
impactforequity.org/wp-content/upl…
Talks about how traffic stops disproportionately affect Black/Latinx communities, indicating a racial bias and causing disproportionate harm.
states that disabled folx often can’t respond to requests as an able bodied person can, potentially leading to dangerous misunderstandings, confrontations b/t them and police during traffic stops. mentions that Black/Brown individuals are also more likely to suffer disabilities
The next speaker wants justice, period - wants pretextual traffic stops to end, period.
“This epidemic of [police] violence did not begin with Dexter Reed…not all the officers are bad, but the bad officers outweigh the good officers. We cannot keep allowing officers to keep killing us and getting away with it. Enough is enough!”
The next speaker speaks to the previous Click it Or Ticket comment, and says it must end-
“It’s not acceptable or okay...if I don’t have the money to pay to fix this broken headlight, that I might be killed”
“It’s not acceptable or okay...if I don’t have the money to pay to fix this broken headlight, that I might be killed”
The next order of business is a proposal to adopt an amendment to G08-03.
There is a question raised by one of the commissioners around clarifying the language/history of the amendment.
chicago.gov/content/dam/ci…
There is a question raised by one of the commissioners around clarifying the language/history of the amendment.
Rev. Dr. Beth Brown explains the original language was misleading, and questions were raised whether, for example, BLM would be considered a biased organization.
"The new language is to make sure groups were assessed based on group conduct of group, not just their stated mission...it provides additional context for how to assess whether certain categories of organizations will fall under the definition of the ordinance."
Commissioner Terry starts by talking about Dexter Reed, and accusations that COPA is behaving in a biased manner.
“We have to take these accusations seriously. One part of increasing accountability is ensuring a fair, impartial investigation to establish facts, to make sure that the police are following the law and are held accountable. “We want justice today but justice takes time”
Anthony Driver, President “We understand why people want action now, but we don't have the power to fire the officers involved. There is a reason for that”
Unfortunately, there are technical issues during Driver’s statement on the zoom livestream- between 7:21 and 7:29 almost nothing is audible, until he announces the next order of business.
As stated by the agenda, this is a panel discussion with CVI and violence prevention organizers to discuss summer planning and what the community needs in terms of support, engagement, and collaboration
The panelists tonight are Benny Lee and Terry Thomas; Lawrence Cadle and Ariel DeNey Rainey, while listed on the flyer, are not present
The first panelist is Terry Thomas, who describes himself as a lifelong Chicagoan. He was previously incarcerated for 15.5 years, but is now a violence interrupter who brokers peace between black youth within his community
walkinthoseshoes.com/caught-up-in-t…
Benny Lee is a violence interrupter and founder of NAEFI. A former Vice Lords gang leader, he was incarcerated and spent 3 years on death row. Now, he is a community liaison preparing formerly incarcerated individuals to transition back into the community.
naefimentor.wixsite.com/naefi/about2
Driver asks Thomas about his process brokering peace, and whether this would be possible now. "Many people talk about young people coming out of prison, who refuse to listen to their elders."
Thomas replies, “I used to be one of them out there. I was able to broker agreements because we had a relationship...Wasn’t always good but wasn’t always bad…it allowed us to talk. I wasn’t afraid because I knew their parents, their grandparents, their family members.”
He goes on to say, “if a Terry Stop hadn’t been done, Dexter Reed would still be alive today”
law.cornell.edu/wex/terry_stop…
Benny Lee- "60% of prisoners come from 6 communities in Chicago. If that isn’t an indication of a war on our community, I don’t know what is.”
Lee explains that his organization started in 2009 to raise awareness amongst men who are coming home from prison: they aren’t 'present' in prison, but are faced with, and unprepared for, all sorts of pressure and responsibilities when they are released.
One of the commissioners asks about the panelists' thoughts on the policies/practices the CPD currently uses, and what they could improve so that community violence interventions are more widely embraced alongside policing
Lee- “If you don’t expose good police to bad police, that makes them bad as well. When police officers turn a blind eye to colleagues who make false reports, that makes them corrupt, that makes them criminals."
Thomas- "I don’t work with the police. If I work with the police I lose credibility with the guys out here. I gotta try to de-escalate, and calm his emotions down..."
"You have violence prevention, violence interruption, and non violence. We do a lot of violent interruption, but men still walk away with violent tendences, and may respond violently in the future. They gotta learn non-violence, and learn to respond differently."
Thomas speaks about the importance of prioritizing initiatives led by community members.
“who are the organizations that are getting the money? They don’t look like us, and they’re limited in what they can do. It should go to people like us, in the hood, that [have] relationships with the people here."
Commissioner Gomez asks about the roles community members can play in organizing their blocks and neighborhoods.
Thomas talks about the importance of listening- "I do 20% talking, but 80% listening-" and that they can’t engage kids in conversations on how things were, because they are different now.
"If these kids now can follow us into gang life, they can follow us into peace. We gotta ask our young brothers questions instead of talking at them- ask, what do you want your life to look like a year from now? Pull their vision out. How do you motivate an individual to change?"
Lee talks about helping youth deal with their misplaced aggression. “I was once one of those young men, selling the drugs, holding the gun. But I never gave up on me."
You’d never believe how many of these young men in prison have never had another man tell them that they loved them…so I’d be the one to tell ‘em. And these young men would tear up. I’d make them feel wanted, valuable, make them want to open up to me and tell me what’s going on”
CPD Deputy Director Fred Waller was also present on the stage, but hasn't seemed to participate until a commissioner invited him to comment. He says, "I appreciate the opportunity exchange ideas from some of these brothers so we can continue to move forward”
His 35 years with the CPD have been fraught with numerous allegations of misconduct, including domestic violence allegations
hpherald.com/evening_digest…
Commissioner Nellis makes a statement about Dexter Reed. He wants to applaud COPA for its ‘record breaking transparency’ in releasing videos and other materials within 19 days, exceeding the 60 day requirement in the consent decree.
COPA Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten called for those officers' police powers to be stripped- in part, due to an ongoing investigation of the same tactical team for another driver, also pulled over for an alleged seatbelt violation.
cbsnews.com/chicago/news/c…
However, CPD Supt. Larry Snelling has failed to act on these recommendations. The 5 officers remain on a paid administrative leave instead.
President Driver has tried, unsuccessfully, to facilitate a meeting between himself, Kersten and Supt. Snelling. It is unclear if a meeting has been scheduled, as of tonight.
news.wttw.com/2024/04/25/dex…
Commissioner Nellis talks about how ‘triggering’ it is to not be able to comment on things that are under review.
"With respect to not commenting on the investigation, we don’t wanna undermine COPA when they have such a good record of modeling transparency for our city"
"With respect to not commenting on the investigation, we don’t wanna undermine COPA when they have such a good record of modeling transparency for our city"
"This is an issue that is dividing our city and this debate will continue for months to come...I do not want to undermine the investigation by sharing my opinion, but like you, I have one. I look forward to the day when I am able to share it.”
President Anthony Driver, Jr. concludes this CCPSA meeting at 8:32, after announcing the next meeting; this will be held on May 30th, 2024, at 6:30pm at Truman College
Thank you, Chicago, and good night! This concludes my coverage on the Chicago CCPSA Public Hearing. For more meeting coverage, check out
chicago.documenters.org
Agency Information
Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability
In July 2021, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance creating a new model for police oversight, accountability, and public safety. The ordinance creates two types of bodies: a citywide Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, with power to advance systemic reform, and District Councils, which will be elected in each police district and work to improve policing and public safety in the district. The Commission and District Councils will bring police officers and Chicago residents together to plan, prioritize, and build mutual trust; strengthen the police accountability system; give Chicagoans a meaningful new role in oversight; and explore and advance alternative effective approaches to public safety.
Additional context:
- Dec. 20, 2021, issue of the Newswire newsletter with a timeline of events leading up to the establishment of CCPSA
- List of CCPSA members
- CCPSA bylaws
- Chicago Cityscape map of police districts