Cop Who Killed Rekia Boyd Should Be Fired: Review Board
By aaroncynic in News on Sep 16, 2015 9:07PM
Aaron Cynic
Servin shot and killed Boyd in 2012 during an altercation in Douglas Park while off duty. The officer said that one of Boyd’s companions had pulled out a weapon, which later turned out to be a cell phone. Servin fired several shots into the group, which struck Boyd’s companion, Antonio Cross, in the hand, and Boyd in the head, killing her. Charges against him were thrown out of court in April.
A spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department told the Associated Press the department received the recommendation Wednesday.
According to the Sun-Times, CPD said in a statement:
“Today the Independent Police Review Authority, Chicago’s external, civilian-led body that investigates all police-involved shootings, formally recommended that CPD separate Officer Dante Servin. We take the use of force by our officers, and the recommendations of IPRA, extremely seriously and we will carefully review the matter.”
Last month, hundreds of activists attended and ultimately shut down CPD’s board meeting. The group Black Youth Project 100, who has organized demonstrations and actions demanding Servin be fired, has netted nearly 9,000 signatures on a petition.
Now they say, it’s more important than ever for people to attend tomorrow to demand the department follows IPRA’s recommendation.
“IPRA has taken years to hold CPD officers accountable for their unjust and violent acts against members of the Black community," read an email from the group calling for people to attend the upcoming meeting. “We shut down the meeting last month because we believe that IPRA is an illegitimate board who does not truly believe in holding officers accountable for their violence against Black women and girls.”
Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy now has up to 90 days to respond to the recommendation. Previously, McCarthy has said that Servin should've never been indicted. If he chooses to recommend something different than IPRA, they would have ten days to come to an agreement, and if they don't, the matter could go in front of the full police board.
In a statement released Thursday morning BYP100 said McCarthy has a crucial choice to make:
"This recommendation is only one step in the process of Servin's termination. The entirety of the police department, which has the blood of so many Black people on their hands, now has 90 days to make a decision. CPD Superintendent, Garry McCarthy, who has been known to have said that Servin should have never been indicted, is now allowed to make a choice: to make a show of compassion towards Rekia's family and Chicago's residents by heeding the recommendation, or to give the Chicago community yet another example of his disregard for the Black residents of this city by allowing Servin to stay on the force."