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45 Percent of Chicago Police Involved in Wrongful Death Suits Have Previously Been Sued for Misconduct


By: The Chicago Reporter and Colorlines

A joint investigation by The Chicago Reporter and ColorLines magazine found that 45 percent of Chicago police officers who have been sued for having shot and killed a civilian since 2000 had previously been sued before—in some cases, multiple times.

"We are asking the Chicago Police Department to detail exactly what, if any, internal steps were taken to discipline these repeat offenders," said the Rev. Calvin S. Morris, Ph.D., executive director of the Community Renewal Society. "We'd also like the department to disclose the names of these officers. Justice and ethics require it." Community Renewal Society is the publisher of The Chicago Reporter.

The Chicago Police Department will not disclose the names of officers involved in any of the 85 fatal police shootings that occurred in Chicago since 2000. But the publications found the names of 20 officers who were identified as a shooter in wrongful death lawsuits filed by relatives of shooting victims. An investigation into these officers' litigation history found that nine—or 45 percent—of them had been sued previously in either federal or circuit court. Five of the nine officers had been sued more than once.

"These findings have troubling implications for transparency and trust between the police department and communities of color, who are so often the most affected by fatal shootings. While each police shooting involves unique circumstances, the preponderance of people of color as the shooting victims suggests that the Chicago Police Department has a lot more work to do to eliminate racial profiling and other racial inequities," said Terry Keleher, director of the Midwest Office of the Applied Research Center, which publishes ColorLines.

Critics say some of the fatal shootings could have been prevented if the police department had paid closer attention to the legal action taken against its officers. "Getting sued, particularly more than once, is really crossing the line in a way that could put the city on notice that extra scrutiny is merited," said Jon Loevy, founding attorney at civil rights law firm Loevy and Loevy.

6th Ward Alderman Freddrenna Lyle concurred. "Clearly, it is indicative of a problem we have with an ability to ... weed out officers with a propensity to shoot," she said.

Questioned about the Reporter's finding during a press conference last week, Mayor Richard M. Daley said being sued does not constitute a proof of guilt. "Anybody can sue anybody in America, and it does happen," he said.

OFFICERS' HISTORY
In the article, the publications chronicle the checkered past of Officer Richard Doroniuk, who was sued for the April 2006 shooting death of Dantwan Betts. Doroniuk had been the subject of many lawsuits—including six suits for incidents before the Betts shooting.

In 2005, for instance, Doroniuk was accused of illegally entering Corbin Johnson's home in the Washington Heights neighborhood. According to court documents, Doroniuk cursed and threatened Johnson before falsely stating that Johnson was in possession of narcotics. Charges against Johnson were later dismissed, and the City of Chicago agreed to pay him $46,000 in a settlement.

In all, Doroniuk has been sued in 14 different lawsuits—the highest number among the 20 officers examined by the publications.

The publications tried through the police department to contact Doroniuk, but he was not willing to talk, according to Pat Camden, deputy director of news affairs at the department.

REMEDIES
Sources cited in the article stress the importance of taking steps to bring down the number of fatal shootings.

Local activists from across the city, including the Rev. Robin Hood, pastor of Redeemed Outreach Ministries in the Englewood neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, said he and other community members from across the city will call upon 29th Ward Alderman Isaac S. Carothers, who chairs the police and fire committee, to hold hearings about police shootings. Hood hopes that, through these hearings, "our elected officials in the City of Chicago will take seriously community concerns about police shooting and brutality."

28th Ward Alderman Ed Smith said he would support such hearings. "They should have public hearings, and all the community's questions should be aired and answered," he said.

Carothers was out of town on Friday and could not be reached for comment.

Denise Dixon, executive director of Working Families Illinois, an organization affiliated with SEIU Local 880 that tries to bring together unions, communities and churches to empower citizens, also said officers should be encouraged to speak out against, rather than stay silent in the face of, bad behavior by their colleagues.

"I think they should have some cover so that they are not then retaliated against and lose their jobs," she said. "They should be commended but not reprimanded."

And Ilana Rosenzweig, who took helm of a new body created by the Chicago City Council to monitor police behavior, said the kind of statistics reported in the article "can be a useful tool to identify trends and patterns—not just in individual officers but in the collective behavior of the Chicago Police Department as a whole." "As the Chicago Police Department looks at designing an early intervention system...tracking litigation against officers should be incorporated in a system," she said.

This story is part of a joint investigative package written by The Chicago Reporter and ColorLines magazine to be released November 2007 highlighting the top cities in the nation regarding fatal police shootings.

The Chicago Reporter is published by the Community Renewal Society, a progressive, faith-based organization that works to eliminate race and class barriers. Founded in 1882, Community Renewal informs, organizes and trains both communities and individuals to advocate for social and economic justice.

Currently in its 9th year of publication, ColorLines is the leading national, multi-racial magazine devoted to covering politics and culture in communities of color.

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