Source: Independent Monitor To Oversee Chicago Police Department

Eddie Johnson
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson speaks with Mayor Rahm Emanuel on April 13, 2016. M. Spencer Green / Associated Press
Eddie Johnson
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson speaks with Mayor Rahm Emanuel on April 13, 2016. M. Spencer Green / Associated Press

Source: Independent Monitor To Oversee Chicago Police Department

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Mayor Rahm Emanuel has come to a tentative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that will allow an independent monitor to oversee the Chicago Police Department, according to a source in Emanuel’s administration.

The monitor will be appointed after the Justice Department reviews the agreement, according to the source, who said city attorneys had been working with the Justice Department for months. The source added that the monitor will report any violations of the agreement to the Justice Department.

City Hall sources told the Chicago Sun-Times the monitor will “have expertise in policing strategies, community engagement, deploying the latest technology to make police strategies most effective and to deal with the kinds of issues raised in the DOJ report.”

The agreement comes more than four months after the Justice Department released a blistering report that found the police department used “unreasonable” deadly force against suspects who presented no immediate threat.

The report also said the department did not properly train officers, and the process for disciplining officers is “haphazard, unpredictable and does not deter misconduct.”

Emanuel initially said his administration would negotiate in good faith toward a consent decree, which would force the city to make reforms under the supervision of a federal court. 

But reaching an agreement wasn’t a sure thing under President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has criticized consent decrees and have blamed reform efforts for low police morale. 

Since the Justice Department’s report was released, the police department has taken its own steps to overhaul the department, including creating a discipline system for punishing officers and expanded community policing.