Police Review Authority Is Reaching Out To The Investigator It Fired
By Kate Shepherd in News on Jan 6, 2016 7:26PM
The new chief of Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) Sharon Fairley has reached out to an investigator who was fired by her predecessor for finding cops were at fault in several misconduct and shooting cases.
Fairley, a former federal prosecutor recently hired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, wants to hear the story from fired Chicago police commander Lorenzo Davis, according to WBEZ.
"I'd like to hear about his side of what happened," Fairley said at a press conference. "I look forward to that conversation and I think that that will be happening soon."
It's one of the "steps to rebuild Chicagoans' trust in IPRA and its findings," she said.
Davis is suing the city for wrongful termination and is eager to meet with Fairley. An attorney from the city's Law Department called him two weeks ago to set up a meeting but they have not set a time and place, according to his lawyer, Torreya Hamilton.
She's going to spend time reexamining the cases, all shootings or alleged excessive-force cases, that got Davis fired by the IPRA.
"I've blocked out my entire afternoons for the month of January to do deep dives into these cases," she said. "That's part of my job—to go back and look historically at these cases—to understand what policies and procedures need to be put in place to prevent issues from happening in the future."
Davis would like to be present while Fairley reviews his findings and to offer her his own opinions of the agency.
"There is a culture of viewing all cases in the light most favorable to the police officers," he told WBEZ.