ACLU Suit Contends Police Discrimination Over Deployment
By Chuck Sudo in News on Oct 28, 2011 2:35PM
Yesterday the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and the Central Austin Neighborhood Association filed a lawsuit against the City alleging discriminatory practices in how police are deployed across the city and claiming neighborhoods with high minority populations have a backlog of 911 calls.
CANA's Ron Reid said many residents in his neighborhood have stopped calling 911 when crime happens because they don't expect a response.
"Last Sunday morning I made calls to report drug dealing outside our home. I'm still waiting for a response.”
The lawsuit was brought under the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003, requiring services to be provided in an equal manner without negatively impacting a minority group.
Recent reports by the Sun-Times and Chicago News Cooperative have shown a lack of police presence in districts with high crime. Chicago News Co-Op broke the numbers down in this handy map.
Below is the lawsuit filed by CANA and the ACLU.