Global Courant
An agency tasked with investigating allegations of police misconduct is launching an investigation.
The agency responsible for overseeing the Chicago Police Department said Friday it was investigating allegations of sexual misconduct involving police officers and a migrant at a police station.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability said in a statement that the investigation concerns members of the CPD assigned to the 10th precinct and “a migrant temporarily housed at the police station”.
A spokesman for the Chicago Police Department confirmed that the Bureau of Internal Affairs is also investigating the allegations, but declined to say whether the officers will remain on active duty.
Chicago Police Headquarters in 2020.
Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images
“We want to assure the public that all allegations of this nature are of the highest priority and that COPA will take prompt action to address any misconduct by those involved,” COPA First Deputy Chief Administrator Ephraim Eaddy said in a statement. rack.
“In accordance with the Consent Decree, COPA has the authority to conduct administrative investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct involving Chicago police officers and we are obligated to demonstrate our commitment to objectivity, integrity and transparency in responding to misconduct. COPAs purpose and core mission, under the Chicago Municipal Code, is to conduct independent, fact-finding investigations on behalf of the public into the most sensitive allegations of police misconduct,” the statement continued.
A migrant family from Venezuela arrives with their belongings at a police station where they will stay with other migrant families in Chicago on May 9, 2023.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
The Chicago Police Department closed a consent decision in 2019 to reform the Chicago police force, which would focus on issues such as accountability, transparency, training and the use of force.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office released a statement saying that, among other allegations under investigation, an officer is charged with sexual misconduct against a minor.
“The Johnson administration remains intensely focused on the deeply disturbing allegations of sexual misconduct by a Chicago Police Department officer against a minor entrant, and other allegations of sexual misconduct in the Chicago Police Department’s 10th precinct,” the office said. the mayor in a statement Friday. .
At a city council hearing in June, Johnson’s deputy chief of staff, Dr. Cristina Pacione-Zayas, told council members that about 11,000 migrants had arrived in Chicago since last August. Some have been detained by Texas Governor Greg Abbott as part of his controversial efforts to send migrants to sanctuary cities. The city houses migrants in emergency shelters and other facilities in the city.
Pacione-Zayas told city councilors that about 650 migrants were temporarily housed at the police station on June 28.
