Police Association Files FOIA Requests on Chicago's Plan to Include the ACLU and BLM in Police Oversight

The National Police Association has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the City of Chicago pertaining to the Mayor's astonishing decision to give groups including the ACLU and Black Lives Matters Chicago, participation in the oversight of the operations of the Chicago Police Department.  

The FOIA request was submitted in response to the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement between the office of the Illinois Attorney General, the City of Chicago and activist groups, who are each plaintiffs in lawsuits against the Chicago Police Department. The terms of agreement allows the activist groups to monitor the consent decree that the City of Chicago and the Illinois Attorney General are currently negotiating, and specifically gives the activist groups rights to enforce the forthcoming consent decree to oversee the Chicago Police Department.

The ACLU stated the agreement allows them to be watchdogs over the police. The ACLU has represented unrepentant cop killer Mumia Abu Jamal, while Black Lives Matter Chicago advocates entirely de-funding the police on its website. The consent decree will among other things establish and govern the Chicago Police Department's use of force policies, directing officers in when and how they are allowed to defend themselves.

The FOIA request seeks, among other documents, any communications that the City of Chicago has had regarding the qualifications and possible ramifications of these activist groups being placed in an oversight capacity of the safety of Chicago police officers. "After all, if the members of these groups are qualified to enforce policy through the court shouldn't they be able to explain and demonstrate their expertise? Are members of these groups going to ride along on uniform patrol shifts? Will they be going in the door first so the scrutinized Chicago police officers can watch and learn from the activist's superior officer safety skills?" the Association says.

"If activists who represent cop killers and advocate the elimination of the police are to have a say in determining how and when officers will be permitted to defend themselves let's pull back the curtain to find the truth.

"The participation of groups antithetical to the safety of police officers having an apparent role in shaping the new proposals affecting officer safety raises serious doubts about the consent decree's legitimacy," the Association says.

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