Chicago spent over $384 million settling lawsuits alleging misconduct by police officers between 2019 and 2023, according to WTTW News
A federal court ordered Chicago in 2019 to change the way it trains and disciplines police officers after an investigation found that officers were violating the civil rights of Black and Latino civilians.
But 1,300 officers were still accused of wrongdoing in 539 lawsuits over the next five years, sometimes more than once.
In 2023, 40 percent of legal expenses were for officers who had already cost taxpayers money in the past. Fifty-seven officers were named three times or more. The city does not track which officers are accused multiple times or discipline them, according to WTTW News.
That runs contrary to a 2017 federal recommendation that Chicago “review settlements and judgments on a broader scale to spot for trends, identify officers most frequently sued, and determine ways to reduce both the cost of the cases and the underlying officer misconduct.”
Tagged:
Crime Blotter
