Police Union President: Federal Report ‘Another Blow To Morale’ For The CPD

Dean Angelo, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #7 president, talks to reporters after a bond hearing for Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke, on murder charges in the killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015, in Chicago. Van Dyke’s hearing is just a day ahead of a deadline for the city to release a squad-car video of the shooting.
In this file photo, Dean Angelo, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #7 president, talks to reporters in November 2015. Angelo lost his bid for re-election as union leader April 12, 2017. Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press
Dean Angelo, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #7 president, talks to reporters after a bond hearing for Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke, on murder charges in the killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015, in Chicago. Van Dyke’s hearing is just a day ahead of a deadline for the city to release a squad-car video of the shooting.
In this file photo, Dean Angelo, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #7 president, talks to reporters in November 2015. Angelo lost his bid for re-election as union leader April 12, 2017. Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press

Police Union President: Federal Report ‘Another Blow To Morale’ For The CPD

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The head of the union that represents 10,000 Chicago police officers is not happy about the main findings in a federal report about the city’s policing.

The Justice Department’s scathing 161-page report found the use of force violates constitutional rights.

“How many more kicks to the shin — or other places — can these officers expect? This is the same type of rhetoric that has been around for the last couple of years with law enforcement,” said Fraternal Order of Police President Dean Angelo. “This is another blow to morale for the Chicago Police Department.”

The report also claimed officers unfairly targeted minorities and given inadequate training and supervision.

Angelo, who said he has not read the full report, said the findings could make it more difficult for officers to combat the city’s rising gun violence.

Angelo has criticized the “lightening speed” of the investigation and expressed concerns the investigation was rushed for political reasons.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch denied that claim.

“This is not a political process, this is an investigative process,” Lynch said.

Ald. Scott Waguespack, 32nd Ward, took to Twitter to express his disappointment in Lynch and Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Lori Lightfoot, head of the Chicago Police Board, called the report a “very important milestone in the city’s history.”

“It puts us in a place to move forward in a positive way to provide the support and resources that our officers clearly indicated they want and they desperately need,” Lightfoot said.