"Aleksandra Gorman
GCE Lab School
1535 N. Dayton
Chicago, IL 60642
April 21, 2015
The Honorable Mayor Rahm Emanuel
121 N LaSalle Street
Chicago City Hall 4th Floor
Chicago, IL 60602
Dear Mayor Emanuel:
The people of Chicago need your help. I am writing to you today on behalf of the many Chicago citizens who are currently being victimized at the hands of police. Chicago’s police department gets away with too much misconduct and brutality. Misconduct refers to inappropriate or illegal actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties. In Chicago, the majority of complaints against officers are never taken to trial, and officers are simply let off the hook. Brutality complaints filed against the Chicago Police Department are 94% less likely to be sustained than elsewhere. In 2010, 6,613 sworn law enforcement officers were involved in police misconduct. Between 2002 and 2004, 10,149 complaints of brutality were made accusing the Chicago Police Department, but only 19 of these complaints led to any suspensions. 85% of the officers weren’t even interviewed about the complaints that were made about them. This shows, not only that complaints against our police force are rising, but that nothing is being done to follow through on these complaints.
I propose to end this injustice through a citywide ordinance that requires cameras on the police officers’ vests. The city of Rialto, California did this and complaints went down 88%, while the use of force by officers decreased 60%. If this worked so well in Rialto, what’s to stop it from doing the same in Chicago? I believe you owe it to the people to fight to pass this law in our city. Chicago police have a history of lying about their mistreatment of civilians. If they were to have cameras showing their interactions with civilians, they wouldn’t be able to lie or hide any information regarding daily interactions with the public because there would be hardcore proof. Instead of innocent individuals being wrongfully imprisoned or brutalized because the police lied about what really happened, we will have evidence of it.
The police department's abuse of power has touched me personally in multiple ways. Two of the biggest things that have happened to me involving the police were extremely traumatizing. First, when I was six years old, my parents were unjustly arrested by a verbally and physically abusive officer. I saw the officer threaten my parents and heard him curse excessively, then proceed to push my father again the back of the car and handcuff him, just because my father had gotten out of the car to say he was my mother’s lawyer. I heard him accuse my mother of driving drunk even after she passed all the tests he gave her. Luckily, this officer was recorded by the camera in his car; however, this was obviously from a distance so it was difficult to see certain things, not to mention he turned it off at one point, which was against the law. If it weren’t for this recording, however, my parents might not have been able to prove the injustice done to them.
The other incident with police didn’t happen to me directly, and unfortunately there were no cameras to catch the action, allowing the officer involved to be let off the hook. My good friend Dominique Franklin Jr., “Damo”, 23, was a victim of police brutality. He was a good person, who unfortunately did made a mistake, just like everyone does. He did not come from a wealthy family, and didn’t always have the money to afford what he needed. So one day, he went into a Walgreens and yes, he made the mistake of stealing something. However, was taking away a few dollars from a big company worth his life? I don’t believe so. When the police found Damo, they handled the situation by tasing him, not once, but twice in what was clearly an unsafe area, causing him to fall against a pole, and be knocked unconscious. For around 15 or 20 minutes, no medical attention was provided for him, while the police just stood idly by. Damo ended up in a coma, costing this young man his life two weeks later. This was a clear case of police misconduct, which is why Damo’s father decided to press charges against the Chicago Police Department. He said he is suing to “try and ensure that what happened to his child, doesn’t happen to anyone else.” However, there were no cameras, which means there was no proof of the officer being at fault, resulting in him being let off the hook, like many other officers in the same position. If there were cameras on police vests, there would be a good view of what is happening, and people would not be able to be robbed of their justice.
When Chicago police officers were sued for torturing two prisoners, Ronald Kitchen and Marvin Reeves, who claimed that over 120 men were brutalized, you, our Mayor of Chicago, responded by saying, “I’m sorry this happened. Now let’s move on.” I’m sorry, but this isn’t some small, unimportant issue to be dismissed in such a manner. This isn’t something for us to just move on from. This is a matter of torture and the abuse of power, and the people of Chicago will simply not “move on”.
I understand that cameras on police vests would cost money, however, I also know that you are planning on having a stadium built for DePaul University. Personally, I think police misconduct is a lot more important than sports. People’s lives are being taken away, which is a much more pressing issue than having a new sports stadium. So, if you have the money for that, I’m sure you can find the money for these cameras as well. Furthermore, I can understand how officers might consider cameras to be an invasion of privacy, which is why I think they should only be on when they are in action. They don’t need to have the camera on at all times, but if they are making an arrest, or pulling someone over, or in general interacting with civilians, they should have their cameras on so there is proof of everything that happens. This could be the solution to so many issues with our law enforcement, and I truly believe it would make a huge difference. This would not only make officers think twice before not behaving properly, but it will also show the truth about incidents, not allowing either party to be wrongfully convicted.
Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this. I hope you take my request into consideration.
Sincerely,
Aleksandra Gorman"
Work Cited
The Honorable Mayor Rahm Emanuel
121 N LaSalle Street
Chicago City Hall 4th Floor
Chicago, IL 60602
Dear Mayor Emanuel:
The people of Chicago need your help. I am writing to you today on behalf of the many Chicago citizens who are currently being victimized at the hands of police. Chicago’s police department gets away with too much misconduct and brutality. Misconduct refers to inappropriate or illegal actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties. In Chicago, the majority of complaints against officers are never taken to trial, and officers are simply let off the hook. Brutality complaints filed against the Chicago Police Department are 94% less likely to be sustained than elsewhere. In 2010, 6,613 sworn law enforcement officers were involved in police misconduct. Between 2002 and 2004, 10,149 complaints of brutality were made accusing the Chicago Police Department, but only 19 of these complaints led to any suspensions. 85% of the officers weren’t even interviewed about the complaints that were made about them. This shows, not only that complaints against our police force are rising, but that nothing is being done to follow through on these complaints.
I propose to end this injustice through a citywide ordinance that requires cameras on the police officers’ vests. The city of Rialto, California did this and complaints went down 88%, while the use of force by officers decreased 60%. If this worked so well in Rialto, what’s to stop it from doing the same in Chicago? I believe you owe it to the people to fight to pass this law in our city. Chicago police have a history of lying about their mistreatment of civilians. If they were to have cameras showing their interactions with civilians, they wouldn’t be able to lie or hide any information regarding daily interactions with the public because there would be hardcore proof. Instead of innocent individuals being wrongfully imprisoned or brutalized because the police lied about what really happened, we will have evidence of it.
The police department's abuse of power has touched me personally in multiple ways. Two of the biggest things that have happened to me involving the police were extremely traumatizing. First, when I was six years old, my parents were unjustly arrested by a verbally and physically abusive officer. I saw the officer threaten my parents and heard him curse excessively, then proceed to push my father again the back of the car and handcuff him, just because my father had gotten out of the car to say he was my mother’s lawyer. I heard him accuse my mother of driving drunk even after she passed all the tests he gave her. Luckily, this officer was recorded by the camera in his car; however, this was obviously from a distance so it was difficult to see certain things, not to mention he turned it off at one point, which was against the law. If it weren’t for this recording, however, my parents might not have been able to prove the injustice done to them.
The other incident with police didn’t happen to me directly, and unfortunately there were no cameras to catch the action, allowing the officer involved to be let off the hook. My good friend Dominique Franklin Jr., “Damo”, 23, was a victim of police brutality. He was a good person, who unfortunately did made a mistake, just like everyone does. He did not come from a wealthy family, and didn’t always have the money to afford what he needed. So one day, he went into a Walgreens and yes, he made the mistake of stealing something. However, was taking away a few dollars from a big company worth his life? I don’t believe so. When the police found Damo, they handled the situation by tasing him, not once, but twice in what was clearly an unsafe area, causing him to fall against a pole, and be knocked unconscious. For around 15 or 20 minutes, no medical attention was provided for him, while the police just stood idly by. Damo ended up in a coma, costing this young man his life two weeks later. This was a clear case of police misconduct, which is why Damo’s father decided to press charges against the Chicago Police Department. He said he is suing to “try and ensure that what happened to his child, doesn’t happen to anyone else.” However, there were no cameras, which means there was no proof of the officer being at fault, resulting in him being let off the hook, like many other officers in the same position. If there were cameras on police vests, there would be a good view of what is happening, and people would not be able to be robbed of their justice.
When Chicago police officers were sued for torturing two prisoners, Ronald Kitchen and Marvin Reeves, who claimed that over 120 men were brutalized, you, our Mayor of Chicago, responded by saying, “I’m sorry this happened. Now let’s move on.” I’m sorry, but this isn’t some small, unimportant issue to be dismissed in such a manner. This isn’t something for us to just move on from. This is a matter of torture and the abuse of power, and the people of Chicago will simply not “move on”.
I understand that cameras on police vests would cost money, however, I also know that you are planning on having a stadium built for DePaul University. Personally, I think police misconduct is a lot more important than sports. People’s lives are being taken away, which is a much more pressing issue than having a new sports stadium. So, if you have the money for that, I’m sure you can find the money for these cameras as well. Furthermore, I can understand how officers might consider cameras to be an invasion of privacy, which is why I think they should only be on when they are in action. They don’t need to have the camera on at all times, but if they are making an arrest, or pulling someone over, or in general interacting with civilians, they should have their cameras on so there is proof of everything that happens. This could be the solution to so many issues with our law enforcement, and I truly believe it would make a huge difference. This would not only make officers think twice before not behaving properly, but it will also show the truth about incidents, not allowing either party to be wrongfully convicted.
Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this. I hope you take my request into consideration.
Sincerely,
Aleksandra Gorman"
 |
| Rally at the Department of Justice by Rick Reinhard (1990) |
- Balko, Radley. "U.S. Cities Pay out Millions to Settle Police Lawsuits." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.<http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/10/01/u-s-cities-pay-out-millions-to-settle-police-lawsuits/>.
- Dantes, Edmond. "Police Brutality Statistics | Cop Block." Cop Block RSS. 13 Apr. 2011. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.<http://www.copblock.org/2841/police-brutality-statistics/> .
- Erbentraut, Joseph. "Report: Chicago Police Are Getting Away With Brutality, And Most Of It Is Against Minorities." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/23/chicago-police-brutality-report-united-nations-_n_6030664.html>.
- Gorner, Jeremy. "How Bad Is the Chicago Police Department's Aggravated Assault Problem?" How Bad Is the Chicago Police Department's Aggravated Assault Problem? Governing, 8 Apr. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.<http://www.governing.com/news/headlines/how-bad-is-the-chicago-policy-departments-.html>.
- Kaste, Martin. "Police Departments Issuing Body Cameras Discover Drawbacks." NPR. NPR, 22 Jan. 2015. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.<http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2015/01/22/379095338/how-police-body-camera-videos-are-perceived-can-be-complicated>.
- Packman, David. "2010 NPMSRP Police Misconduct Statistical Report -Draft-." PoliceMisconductnet. CATO Institute, 5 Apr. 2011. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. <http://www.policemisconduct.net/2010-npmsrp-police-misconduct-statistical-report/>.
- "Police Misconduct." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_misconduct>
