Today’s @Chicago_Police board meeting is scheduled for 7:30pm. Tune in to CAN-TV (Chicago cable channel 27) or view the livestream at https://www.youtube.com/user/chicantv/videos.

Agenda. The “blue book” can be found here (PDF): https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/cpb/PubMtgMinutes/BlueBook07212022.pdf https://t.co/6sovkrrqiZ

Still waiting on a livestream.

Actually you can tune in now: https://www.cantv.org/channels/channel-27/

Looks like the meeting began around 7:30pm.

Board President Foreman introduces Deborah Witzburg, Inspector General for the City of Chicago. Witzburg presents resources that provide information regarding policy disciplinary processes and practices.
Example: https://igchicago.org/about-the-office/our-office/public-safety-section/cpd-disciplinary-process-overview/ https://t.co/5OMhA9LXNb

Witzburg discusses dashboards available on http://igchicago.org. We were looking at the following dashboard as an example: https://informationportal.igchicago.org/cpd-arrests-overview-demographics/. Witzburg says the IG’s goal is to make the data transparent to the public and the police department.

Witzburg says the 11th district had the most arrests per capita in 2021. https://t.co/gExX38sYMy

Investigatory stops dropped sharply after March 2020. https://t.co/NcQQ7R9rzP

Each year through 2019-2021, the number of sworn members of CPD have declined. https://informationportal.igchicago.org/chicago-police-department-active-sworn-officer-overview/. The department is getting smaller as whole and also aging toward retirement.

Foreman says he and the board use the dashboards and IG website data often and asks “now what?” regarding what to do with the data. Witzburg says it depends on the each individual’s goals and points out that each dashboard has a feedback mechanism. https://t.co/s461VhiApX

Wolff asks if the questions/answers submitted through feedback are transparent and open to the public. Witzburg says there is a FAQ section. It does not seem specific questions are posted anonymously for the public’s review. https://t.co/4JKEkpKI3R

Previous board meeting’s minutes are approved.

Next meeting of the Police Board will be Thursday, August 18th at 7:30pm.

Disciplinary cases:
21PB2997 - board motion passes 6/1
21PB2988 - board motion passes 7/0, dropping all charges against the officer.

Request for review 21-13: Supt and chief administrator disagreed. Cusack says the supt did not meet the burden of proof. https://t.co/QzjutaH33X

Request for review 22-07, 22-08: Chief administrator of COPA and supt of police did not agree. Block says, in his opinion, the supt did meet the burden of proof in overcoming the chief administrator’s findings. https://t.co/GB2DzMQkRh

Cusack and Block were each randomly selected to provide opinions in these requests for review.

Appeals: 22AA-01, 02, and 03. Motion passes 8/0.

Supt Brown provides his report, discussing the several officers who have recently died due to suicide. Brown says no officer should suffer in silence. Brown mentioned there is a standalone, confidential. mental health facility for officers. https://t.co/ptxLhCb72R

Brown says month to date: homicides down 45%, shootings down 32. City-wide YTD: Homicides down 15%, shootings down 19%.

Brown says consent decree compliance is now over 70%.

Additional reported data:
3000+ gun arrests
700+ carjacking arrests.

Chief Administrator of COPA Kersten discusses the Anthony Alvarez case. COPA’s investigation: https://www.chicagocopa.org/case/2021-0001161/

Kersten says COPA respects the process but disagrees with the board’s one-member review finding, mentioned above. https://t.co/zRwS5OsIgc

Foreman invites the public to read the board’s opinion on the Alvarez case, which will be available on their website.

Public comment period:

1. Jacque Stefanic reports on recent initiatives by the Chicago Youth Council for Police Accountability.

1. 4th District citizen shares concerns:
2. Wants a Coffee with a Commander event
3. Area around 83rd and Dorchester has seen speeding and car accidents, resulting in multiple deaths. The citizen asks for help and action.
   Foreman asks Supt Brown to involve CDOT and Vision Zero

1. A victim of sexual violence says they and other victims have had struggles getting support from law enforcement. They discuss off- and online sexual violence and online stalking. The victim says they tried to report abuse to a detective and were denied help.

1. The caller is non-responsive.

1. The caller discusses work they are doing to encourage citizens to report crime. Their organization (didn’t seem to name which) are in districts 3 and 6. This org says they are working to coordinate efforts between districts. They speak in favor of getting officers days off.

The caller also asked for extended working hours for District Coordination Officers (DCOs).

1. The caller is non-responsive.

1. Avalon community resident also voices concerns regarding the speeding and car racing an earlier caller reported. They are asking for CPD follow-up and meetings with their new commander.

1. Southside homeowner says their community is being bullied by members of a particular residence, who also carjacked her. There have been recent shootings tied to this residence. The caller says these issues have been going on for 5-6 years. Brown says CPD will investigate ASAP

1. Caller discusses a parking issue regarding a church near 76th/Greenwood. There have been a number of signs posted regarding parking violations that haven’t worked. Caller says some residents are staying home as they don’t know if they’ll have a parking spot when they get home.

Foreman asks the caller from (9) if they’ve talked to church leadership. The caller says yes, they’ve been talking to the church since February. The caller says the church has multiple parking lots and still people don’t fully use the lots.

1. Caller is non-responsive.

1. A former 311 employee calls about:
2. Parking issues reported by the caller in (9). They told church-goers they cannot park in certain places and had to flag down an officer to write tickets.
3. 79th/Cottage Grove to Drexel: There have been numerous shootings/open drinking

1. Caller says he has to obtain his medication through CVS, who he says has left the Black community. It appears the caller is a former City employee. As a beat facilitator, they are asking for some identification showing they are working with the police department.

1. A southside block club member reports drug dealing activities, shootings, squatting, prostitution, and health violations in the 6th District. They say there was a shooting tonight as the IG was speaking. The caller lists multiple addresses, some of which are abandoned.

1. A rep from Justice for Anthony Alvarez says a 20-day suspension for officers is shameful. The caller says the police board is “keeping killers on the force.” Foreman briefly muted the caller, saying “we’re not going to do name-calling.”

The caller in (14) says to Block: I have no idea why you made this decision.

1. An Avalon Park resident complains about a neighbor who has been setting off large fireworks displays despite being asked repeatedly to stop. “The noise was absolutely horrendous.” The neighbor said, “Fuck the police” and continued setting off his fireworks.

Brown tells the caller in (15) that CPD has dropped the ball and says CPD will take action.

1. If you’ve attended a police board meeting, you’ve probably heard this caller. They are calling for vigilantism. Their dialog is very difficult to follow.

The caller in (16) tells officers they don’t need to commit suicide and that there is hope and ways to get through difficulty and hardship. They provide a phone number (presumably theirs) and tell officers to call them when they are experiencing mental health issues.

This concludes the public comment period.

The meeting adjourns at 8:49pm.

This concludes my coverage for @CHIdocumenters. #CHIDocumenters

Please see http://chicago.gov for more information. Reply to this thread or DM me with any questions.