Send fatal police shooting cases directly to full Police Board
There’s no such thing as too much scrutiny when a cop shoots and kills civilians. That’s why we support the decision to have the Police Board now examine the controversial fatal shootings in December 2015 of Bettie Jones and Quintonio LeGrier by Officer Robert Rialmo.
But think about this: The decision easily could have gone the other way.
The current police accountability process gives a single Police Board member the pressure- cooker job of choosing sides between the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and the police superintendent in disputed cases of discipline and misconduct.
In this case, board member Eva- Dina Delgado sided with COPA, which ruled the Jones- LeGrier shootings unjustified and said Rialmo should be fired. Supt. Eddie Johnson had ruled that Rialmo’s actions were justified and he should keep his job.
Who’s to say what a different board member would have done?
Now the pressure rightly sits with the remaining eight board members. That’s how it should be. Two people were shot and killed by police, under circumstances that are still under heated dispute. A tragedy like this must be examined under a microscope, to the nth degree, before a final decision.
That’s not hindsight nor Monday morning quarterbacking of the police. It’s what should be expected when a father calls 9- 1- 1 for help and his 19- yearold son and their 55- year- old neighbor end up dead. Any one of us would want the same if our child or friend were killed, when all we wanted was some assistance with a troubled teenager. And frankly, the police should want it too, so that they have every chance to fully clear their names and keep their jobs.
We’ve said before that Chicago and Cook County have to go the extra mile to reform the Chicago Police Department and build community trust, which is crucial to maintaining law and order.
It’s time for the city to go another step along that extra mile. Cut out the middle man and send every disputed case directly to the full 9- member Police Board for a final decision.
City Hall fought that idea when the current process was hammered out.
But one board member shouldn’t have the burden, or the authority, to break a tie. The Jones- LeGrier shooting isn’t the first time COPA and Johnson have been at odds, and it won’t be the last.
Chicago shouldn’t wait for another deadly police shooting to fix the system.