A newly released watchdog report on the Chicago Police Department found that “strategic and tactical incoherence” from top officials led to inadequate preparedness for mass protests last summer.
The report, released on Feb. 18 by Joseph M. Ferguson, the inspector general for Chicago, found that the department’s response to “the events of May and June 2020 may have set CPD and the City back significantly in their long-running, deeply challenged effort to foster trust with members of the community.”
“The challenges in responding to large-scale protests and unrest amidst a global pandemic were daunting, but the efforts of CPD and the City to stem unrest were marked, almost without exception, by confusion and lack of coordination in the field, emanating from failures of intelligence assessment, major event planning, field communication and operation, administrative systems and, most significantly, leadership from CPD’s highest ranks,” Ferguson’s office said in a statement.
The Office of the Inspector General interviewed “rank-and-file CPD members” for its review, finding that an overwhelming majority of officers “felt failed by the department after being left to high-stakes improvisation without adequate support or guidance,” Deputy Inspector General for Public Safety Deborah Witzburg said.
Officers said they were often given no specific assignments when they arrived at a crime scene, a move that left them feeling abandoned by superiors with little intelligence or advice, according to the report.
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On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a black man, died while in police custody in Minneapolis after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. His death sparked protests, and riots occurred throughout the nation that have been estimated to have caused upward of $1 billion in damage.
In June, several CPD officers reported vandalism and harassment by anti-police protesters at their residences. On Aug. 10, Chicago lifted bridges leading to the city’s downtown area following a night of violence and looting at several locations at the Magnificent Mile, a stretch of retailer stores. More than 100 arrests were made, and 13 officers were hurt during the unrest in one night.
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According to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the state’s Emergency Management Agency, Cook County sustained nearly $20 million in damages from looting and riots over the summer, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
