Chicago's Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) was formed in 2007 to review police brutality. Since that time, IPRA has investigated nearly 400 civilian shootings by cops. It has found only one shooting to be unjustified. But then Lorenzo Davis, 65, a former Chicago police commander who became an investigator for the IPRA, found "a few cases in which he believed police had inappropriately fired their weapons." Suddenly Davis, who had previously been getting stellar reviews for his work on the IPRA, was fired.
Through most of his IPRA tenure, Davis's performance evaluations showered him with praise. They called him an "effective leader" and "excellent team player."
The final evaluation, issued June 26, said he "is clearly not a team player."
Radley Balko of the Washington Post writes, "'Team player' of course meaning 'willing to side with cops who shoot people.'"
And of course this is the city where police were found to have tortured suspects for decades. Conveniently, the city managed to cover up the mess long enough for the statute of limitations to prevent all but one of the officers from facing any criminal charges. In 2008, the city's most elite police unit was disbanded after officers were accused of a host of crimes from assault to theft to burglaries to conspiracy to commit murder. And just earlier this year, the Guardian reported new allegations of torture, beatings, and other physical abuse at an abandoned warehouse.
Just a thought: Maybe the Chicago PD needs fewer "team players."
Image: Shutterstock
