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Another way Chicago is behind the times

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The stories behind Chicago’s police settlements often begin in ordinary moments. Riding a bike. Attending a barbecue. Watching TV.

They often end in extraordinary circumstances, according to the lawsuits. An 11-year-old with a gun placed at her temple. A grandmother arrested for battery to a police officer. A young man shocked unconscious by a Taser.

Most of these cases conclude as they occurred – outside of the public glare. People know about the high-profile police shootings of civilians and the multimillion-dollar settlements that result. But most cases are lesser known and settle for far less. Half of all cases paid out $36,000 or less, but they also contribute to a mounting taxpayer bill that goes largely unchecked by the mayor or City Council.

The City of Chicago spent more than $210 million for police misconduct lawsuits from 2012 to 2015, according to a Chicago Reporter analysis. It spent almost $53 million more on outside attorneys to litigate the cases. The Police Department exceeded its annual budget for lawsuits by almost $50 million, on average, in each of those years.

Yet, unlike some other major cities, Chicago doesn’t analyze the lawsuits for trends, identify the officers most frequently sued, or determine ways to reduce both the cost of the cases and officer misconduct.

Ugh.

* NYC does analyze lawsuits for trends…

In New York, before anybody can sue the city or receive a settlement, state law requires him first to submit a notice of claim. It includes basic information such as when, where and how the offense happened. The notices are filed with [New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer’s] office, where staff members enter the information into a database for analysis. The data are posted on a website, and Stringer releases detailed reports annually, with updates every few months aimed at helping agencies figure out how to drive down costs.

The comptroller’s office said it has been able to link cuts to the city’s tree-pruning budget to increases in tree-related claims and prove that a public hospital in Brooklyn has more medical malpractice claims than others in New York City.

One of the most important uses of the claims, according to Stringer, is sharing precinct-level-data with the New York Police Department to bolster the agency’s new risk management bureau, formed last year to help identify patterns of misconduct and mitigate risks that result in lawsuits. But Stringer cannot force the department to incorporate the data into its early warning system, which targets individual police officers accused of misconduct.

Claims data is more useful in finding trends in specific neighborhoods than it is in identifying the behavior of individual officers. Sometimes people don’t know the names of the police officers they are accusing of misconduct.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jun 24, 16 @ 9:45 am

Comments

–Yet, unlike some other major cities, Chicago doesn’t analyze the lawsuits for trends, identify the officers most frequently sued, or determine ways to reduce both the cost of the cases and officer misconduct.–

Governmental malpractice.

Truth is, they don’t want to know — they just want to keep it as quiet as possible and hope it goes away.

How’s that working out these days?

I guess the Justice Department will do the job for them now.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Jun 24, 16 @ 9:55 am
So trial lawyers make a bonanza off of the taxpayers in Chicago off these claims, the city doesn’t trend the complaints to get the “bad eggs” off the street and properly manage risk, and they don’t trend the type of behaviors to serve as a basis for officer training to improve performance and minimize damage.

It would be interesting to see what the situation for legal liabilities are for the other branches of city and county government and CPS.

And the city says it doesn’t have the resources to properly patrol the deadly precincts in the city to cut down the shooting rates.

Right.

Comment by Illinois bob Friday, Jun 24, 16 @ 10:01 am
But Rahm and the Daleys have “gravitas”…

I’d trade it for some management ability any day.

Comment by Daniel Plainview Friday, Jun 24, 16 @ 10:12 am
“Chicago doesn’t analyze the lawsuits for trends, identify the officers most frequently sued.”

Well that’s not smart. duh.

Recently, the idea was floated that police officers should carry professional liability insurance.

That is one of the best ideas evah!

Let the insurance companies get a hold of the task of insuring a serial-roid-rage-roughiens.

If there was a pattern, a police officer would basically become uninsurable. Sayonara. All payouts would be on the insurance companies. Actuaries would slay this dragon quicker than you think. New product line baby!

Problem fixed. For the public and the taxpayer.

Are Rahm and the Chicago City Council capable of moving that sensible direction?

Comment by cdog Friday, Jun 24, 16 @ 10:16 am
Rahm and the Chicago City Council need to require police officers to have liability insurance, just like a doctor has malpractice.

Can you imagine? Those dragon-slaying actuaries would be all over it. They would get the roid-ragers out of uniform!

A new product line for insurance companies! Economic growth!

Win/Win/Win
Taxpayers/man on the street/economy

(this has been previously mentioned–one of the best ideas I have ever read on CF)

Comment by cdog Friday, Jun 24, 16 @ 10:24 am
“Truth is, they don’t want to know — they just want to keep it as quiet as possible and hope it goes away.” Absolutely right. Don’t just look at C.P.D., look at the tony suburbs whose “city fathers” are more concerned about their towns’ reputation than stopping police abuse.

Park Ridge borders Chicago on the north. In 2006 teenager Gavin Farlely was beaten by officer Jason Leavitt while handcuffed. A real hero cop.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-11-15/news/ct-met-park-ridge-officer-indicted-20101115_1_police-officer-police-powers-teens

City of Park Ridge paid Farley $185,000 to make it go away. Hard to turn down for a family of six with kids heading to college. Park Ridge is so happy with Leavitt’s “performance” on his job, that he still has a job and has since been promoted to “Commander” (cops love phoney paramilitary titles) and is now in charge of the Park Ridge Citizens Patrol. I am not making this up.

Police criminality and the politicians who hide it is a disease that poisons all communities in Illinois, not just Chicago.

Comment by Payback Friday, Jun 24, 16 @ 10:27 am
Oh geez. Sorry about the double post.
Thought the first one got hung up in my system and have been playing with the “inspect element” function.
(I think I will go do some paperwork/laundry/piano practice.)

Comment by cdog Friday, Jun 24, 16 @ 10:29 am
2012 to 2015: $210 million. That’s a lot of money.

If only pay was tied to performance.

Comment by Sir Reel Friday, Jun 24, 16 @ 10:44 am
=Police criminality and the politicians who hide it is a disease that poisons all communities in Illinois, not just Chicago.=
It is likely prevalent for Law Enforcement of all sizes and types. And while politicians boast that their government is open and transparent, allowing issues such as this to be public would challenge the PR that community strives to be.

Comment by Bogey Golfer Friday, Jun 24, 16 @ 10:58 am
==2012 to 2015: $210 million. That’s a lot of money.==

We financed it, so it’s actually twice that.

Comment by crazybleedingheart Friday, Jun 24, 16 @ 11:12 am
“Half of all cases paid out $36,000 or less”

Just remember that as frustrating as it may be, any business owner knows it is often cheaper and smarter to pay off an unjustified nuisance lawsuit and make it go away than to spend time and money fighting it - even if you are 100% right.

I’m not saying that is the situation all the time - or even most of the time. We all probably know some people in LE who we wish weren’t. But we also know there are people out there who will view an unpleasant encounter with a government employee as simply an opportunity to collect some money.

Comment by BluegrassBoy Friday, Jun 24, 16 @ 11:51 am
Another equally disturbing part of the Reporter story regarding judgments in which the city and officers admit guilt to misconduct is that IPRA routinely dismisses related complaints as unfounded.

Comment by Precinct Captain Friday, Jun 24, 16 @ 11:52 am
Apparently, Daley used to fight the lawsuits and not do the automatic payouts that Rahm is doing. Of course, not with the Law Dept, but with one of his buddies.
I’d like to see the numbers (from some of the Daley years)in comparison

Comment by Belle Friday, Jun 24, 16 @ 12:55 pm
I’m fairly positive that this was a deal Daley cut with the FOP (police union) to buy labor peace. Contractually, the city can’t track this.

A bad deal, like so many other signed during his administration.

Comment by Truth be told Friday, Jun 24, 16 @ 3:53 pm