Chicago Unconcerned with Police Brutality Until Ferguson

As Commander Glenn Evans faces felony charges for official misconduct for assaulting a suspect, some question why now? In Chicago, cops are rarely charged with a crime after a shooting incident.

Vice News reports:

Police—both in Chicago and all over the country—rarely apologize for shootings, and it’s even rarer that one results in an officer being disciplined. Since November of 2007, 176 people have been shot by Chicago police. All of those incidents were reviewed by Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA), the agency charged with investigating police misconduct—but the cops’ use of potentially lethal force was only found to be unjustified three times, the Chicago Tribune reported last month.

Before 2007, shooting incidents were investigated by the Police Department’s own Office of Professional Services (OPS). After a number of police brutality cases in 2007, the Independent Review Police Authority was created as an independent entity that investigates the police. But, according to data analysis done by the Chicago Justice Project, the IPRA is no more effective then the OPS was:

Our data analysis details a nearly identical rate of sustained civilian complaints against officers between IPRA and OPS. If OPS’ rate of sustaining allegations against officers was one of the reasons for the creation of IPRA, we find no statistical evidence that the results of IPRA’s efforts are any different than its predecessor. In chart A, you will find the average sustained rate for both bodies. You will see that IPRA’s rate of sustaining allegations against officers is only 0.28% higher than OPS’s rate.

Instead of outrage at the incident, Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy praised the officer and promoted him. He even ignored recommendations by the IPRA to strip Evans of his police powers. Mayor Rahm Emmanual supported the move.

So, what occured between April 2014 when DNA evidence proved the incident took place and late August? Ferguson.