Memo questions handling of complaints against Chicago police
The new head of the Chicago Police Department is standing by his choice to be his top legal adviser, despite a memo that raises questions about how she handled complaints about officers in an elite drug and gang unit.
A memo obtained by a newspaper shows that an internal affairs investigator complained in June 2005 that his superiors had not approved a more aggressive probe of the Special Operations Section, despite mounting evidence of wrongdoing. The unit has since been disbanded, and seven of its former members face charges of robbery, kidnapping and making false arrests.
The memo from Police Agent Christopher Taliaferro also notes that five months earlier, a colleague had sent a similar request asking for a more thorough investigation to Debra Kirby -- then head of the Internal Affairs Division -- to no avail.
New Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis last week promoted Kirby to be his top legal adviser. Weis, a former FBI official, was hired to restore public confidence in a department shaken by allegations of excessive force, barroom brawls involving off-duty officers and the ongoing scandal with the SOS.
Kirby's promotion was part of a massive reorganization by Weis that also included replacing 21 of 25 district commanders.
"The FBI has had a close working relationship with Deb Kirby," police spokeswoman Monique Bond said. "Supt. Weis has full confidence in all of the command changes he made."
Bond said that prior to the memo being sent, some SOS officers' behavior was "under review" by the confidential investigations section, but that would have been secret, even from other people in internal affairs.
However, police officials also acknowledged the probe that led to charges against the officers was prompted by the Cook County state's attorney's office.
John Gorman, a spokesman for the state's attorney's office, said the case was developed when a high-ranking prosecutor noticed numerous drug cases were being dropped because SOS officers routinely failed to show up in court to testify.
Since then, federal prosecutors have widened the probe into the SOS to include the internal affairs division and determining how the unit's officers were allowed to remain on duty despite numerous misconduct allegations.