Chicago Police Abuse Cases Exceed Average

[wombat13]

Here's an article for the cop-haters and the jack-booted thugs!

Seriously, it seems pretty obvious that the Chicago PD has some serious problems given that this is just one of many reports of abuse and corruption.

"CHICAGO, Nov. 14 — Chicago police officers are the subject of more brutality complaints per officer than the national average, and the Police Department is far less likely to pursue abuse cases seriously than the national norm, a legal team at the University of Chicago reported Wednesday."

You can read the whole article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/15/us...html?th&emc=th

Of course one explanation is that there are more frivolous claims of abuse in Chicago than in other cities. This would explain the higher rate of complaints as well as the lower rate of investigation (or at least some of it). But to believe that this is the explanation, one would have to believe that scumbags and low-lifes in NYC, LA, Houston, etc. have less motivation to accuse cops of wrongdoing. I find that hard to believe. Also, the rate of investigation is so much lower than the national average that it defies an innocent explanation.

More likely, dirty CPD officers know that they are unlikely to be punished for abuse and feel much less constrained in their actions. Note that 5% of the force accounts for 50% of complaints.