Feds Believed To Be Investigating Chicago Police Shootings

By Chuck Sudo in News on Sep 2, 2014 6:15PM

It appears that federal authorities are looking into shootings by Chicago Police. Popular cop blog Second City Cop obtained a letter to Fraternal Order of Police president Dean Angelo by Daniel Herbert, an attorney specializing in representing police officers in legal matters. (Herbert is a former police officer, former Cook County prosecutor, and the FOP’s former in-house attorney, according to the Sun-Times.)

In the letter, Herbert warns Angelo that he learned of the investigation and that federal authorities were specifically looking at shootings “in which an offender’s gun was not recovered.” Herbert advises Angelo that, under CPD policy, officers are required to cooperate with federal agents, but doesn’t extend to criminal investigations involving the officers.

(T)he officer should respectfully inform the Agents that they will not be speaking to them without legal representation. Officers who are approached in this manner should contact my office of FOP immediately.

There have been 34 police shootings in Chicago this year. While all police shootings are investigated, including the two that occurred during one weekend late last month, by the Independent Police Review Authority, little detail of the investigations ever see the light of day. The news of this supposed investigation comes after Cmdr. Glenn Evans was indicted on felony misconduct and aggravated battery charges last week in a January 2013 case in which the offender’s gun was never recovered.

Chicagoist has included the letter below and has contacted the Chicago Police Department News Affairs division for comment on any federal investigations into police shootings. We will update this post once we receive a reply.