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Foxx aims to speed up police misconduct investigations

Published  December 5, 2016 9:44pm CST
News
FOX 32 Chicago

CHICAGO (FOX 32 NEWS) - Cook County's new state's attorney Kim Foxx wants to speed up investigations of alleged wrongdoing by police officers but the union representing Chicago police officers said the prosecutor's priorities are "upside down."

Dean Angelo, President of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, said, "to me, it's dangerous." 

Angelo minced no words about a new policy spelled out by Foxx, who is breaking with previous prosecutors. She's prepared to launch criminal investigations of alleged police wrongdoing without waiting for civilian reviews to be completed, a process that sometimes took years.

"Waiting for evidence after it's become stale or after memories have become foggy, months after the fact, to begin those types of investgations are not in line with best practices. And that's why we're going to review it," Foxx said.

Angelo said police have an unfair target on their back.

"Murders that are out there seem to be lost in the fog of 'police accountability.' They're looking at the wrong target. The police have got the target on 'em," Angelo said.

Foxx said she expects to work with police in Chicago and the suburbs. Reducing the soaring level of violence is a primary goal, but to achieve that she said residents of the most violent neighborhoods must feel they can trust police.

"We have a crisis of confidence in our criminal justice system," Foxx said. "I think what we've seen, again not just here but across the country, around the distrust as it relates as to how we hold people accountable, requires that we be transparent in the process."

Foxx said she plans to ask the Cook County Board to let her hire 150 new prosecutors. It's an 18 percent increase and she said it would cost more than $2 million a year.

However, Foxx argues the surge in violence make it necessary, and some of the new hires would work with police to target illegal guns.

The Fraternal Order of Police opposed Foxx in last month's election, choosing to endorse her republican opponent.