Elgin hires outside firm to investigate police misconduct claims

Ten allegations of police misconduct against Elgin police officers will be the first order of business for a new outside law firm hired by the city council Wednesday night.

In an 8-1 vote, the council chose the law firm of Ottosen DiNolfo Hasenbalg & Castaldo Ltd. to investigate the 10 complaints lodged since last June. That's when the city council first approved a new city ordinance requiring police misconduct allegations to be handled by an outside party.

Council members want to eliminate even the perception of bias in the handling of such cases. Previously, most misconduct allegations were either investigated by the police department itself or by the city's compliance officer, who is a retired Elgin police officer.

"We talk a lot about transparency, and this falls into that area," said council member Tish Powell in support of hiring the firm. "Perception is reality in many cases. We need to have that independent lens in these situations that warrant investigations."

The process of hiring the outside firm experienced a delay because council members wanted a third party that didn't involve any connections to current or former law enforcement members. But all three firms who expressed interest in the job have former law enforcement members or relations to current or former law enforcement members on their payroll. The council loosened that requirement Wednesday night to allow for an exception in the case of Ottosen DiNolfo Hasenbalg & Castaldo Ltd. Council members said they would re-evaluate the firm's work if needed, but they didn't want to add to the misconduct case backlog while waiting to find a law firm that met every requirement.

Rose Martinez was the lone member of the council to vote against hiring the firm. She said she is concerned about the unknown total cost of having the firm do the investigations. The city budgeted $100,000 this fiscal year, but the actual cost will depend on the number of investigations and the per-hour cost of each case. Martinez also questioned the ability of a law firm to investigate a police misconduct allegation with the same expertise as the city's police department.

"This is like asking a soccer official to come and officiate a basketball game," Martinez said. "I just can't vote for this."

City attorney Bill Cogley assured the council the law firm is equipped to handle the work. Cogley was part of a three-person panel, which also included police Chief Ana Lalley, that recommended the firm to the city council.

"These cases come in all shapes and sizes," Cogley said. "They will all be investigated to the level they need to be."