After Laquan McDonald: Craig Futterman on the issues with the new police accountability agency
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) launched last Friday, but experts already knows what the pitfalls are — can they be overcome by strong leadership? Structural reform is supposed to be about setting up safeguards so that, no matter who is in charge, those who investigate the police are set up for success.
COPA falls short of that.
For City Bureau and the Chicago Defender, Charles Preston and I explored the political dysfunction that led to COPA and away from more independent oversight of the police department. But left on the cutting room floor is some of COPA’s flaws, according to civil rights attorney Craig Futterman:
- The mayor’s office, and all the politics that go with it, still has too much power over those who investigate the police. For example, the mayor’s office still has input over which law firm gets hired if COPA wants to hire outside lawyers to help it navigate legal and criminal minefields.
- It’s too secretive. The inspector general that oversees CPD has increased power to investigate wrongdoing and systemic problems in the department. But the department is bound to incredible secrecy — unless someone leaks a report to the media or it is somehow otherwise released, Futterman said the IG’s findings may never be known and, thus, have no real effect.
Futterman helped craft a stronger ordinance introduced by Ald. Leslie Hairston. Here’s Futterman unplugged from an earlier interview. Parts are paraphrased and edited for clarity:
I was disappointed both with the process and the end result. I don’t want to minimize that the ordinance is better than what it was (before aldermen pushed for changes). But (COPA) still remains fundamentally deficient in the areas that matter most. The community driven changes were to create a body that truly was and is independent from city hall — the mayor’s ordinance (COPA) didn’t do it. ...
Independence, power, resources, transparency — those critical components fell short. It left the agency firstresponsible for investigating police abuse … to be dependent on the mayor to stay in office. Even having the own ability to have its own independent council to represent it and represent the agency in doing investigations and following up on recommendations and ensure it is an independent body… it fell deeply short there.
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Within the investigative agency — there are powers that were left out like power to investigate complaints when police officers rape and sexually abuse — their need to be independent eyes and independent investigations. There is also an utter lack of community oversight and community involvement … with the police department.
The deputy inspector general has new powers and oversight ability but there’s no transparency — they’re sworn to secrecy. The IG should give policy recommendations so that public can see them … there’s also no community engagement in that process.
But I’m a hopeless optimist. I’ll say this is true and to this day, although there’s a lot of backsliding, I continue to see greater opportunities for real change than there has been in my lifetime, with respect to addressing racism and police brutality in Chicago.
