Temporary foot pursuit policy to be implemented in the next several weeks: CPD
CHICAGO - A temporary foot pursuit policy will be implemented by the Chicago Police Department within the next several weeks.
CPD said in a statement Saturday that reform is a top priority for the organization.
On March 5, the Independent Monitor recommended that CPD draft up a foot pursuit policy. The department says it began working on a policy based on best practices from other cities that had implemented similar policies.
The deadline for Chicago’s foot pursuit policy was extended to Sept. 3 due to the pandemic.
CPD says they do expect to meet the deadline.
Meanwhile, the department says, a temporary policy will be implemented in the coming weeks.
The Department of Justice issued a scathing report four years ago saying that too many Chicago police chases were unnecessary or ended with officers shooting people they didn’t need to.
A judge signed off on a consent decree two years ago requiring the department to adopt a foot pursuit policy, yet it still doesn’t have one.
Jonathan Smith, an attorney and former section chief of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division who served as a consultant on the consent decree, said one of the reasons Chicago doesn’t have a foot pursuit policy is that police departments are reluctant to make changes until they must.
"Sometimes it takes incidents like these to see the cost of noncompliance," said Smith, referring to the fatal police shootings of 13-year-old Adam Toledo on March 29 and of 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez two days later.
CPD's full statement on the foot pursuit policy can be found below:
"The Chicago Police Department has made reform a top priority within the organization and is dedicated to fulfilling all of the consent decree requirements, as well as truly changing the culture of the institution. After CPD provided all requested data, the Independent Monitor recommended on March 5 that the Department draft a foot pursuit policy. CPD immediately began working on a policy based on best practices from other cities that had implemented similar policies.
The deadline for Chicago’s foot pursuit policy was extended to Sept. 3, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department expects to meet this deadline and is working through the process of arranging the necessary community engagement, internal focus groups, as well as setting up a period for public comment.
Meanwhile, a temporary policy will be implemented in the next several weeks."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.