Chicago Criminal Defense Blog

There is no reason that someone meant to protect and serve should hurt an innocent person. Police officers should focus on helping all people, not just people of a certain background. This is certainly a problem in Chicago as well as surrounding areas, but there is some good news.

According to a recent report from Dec. 10, Chicago police patrol officers have to wear body cameras. In previous years, there were no body camera requirements, so there was a potential for officers to abuse their positions. Now, they'll be held accountable with recordings that show exactly what was happening in front of them at the time of any alleged case of police brutality.

We can find case after case of police brutality in Chicago's law enforcement records and judicial proceedings. Perhaps your experience was similar to one victim who claims two officers slammed her against a building, pulled her hair and pushed her to the ground.

Multiple community groups have made it clear that enough is enough. The groups, which include Black Lives Matter, initiated a lawsuit last week, claiming that more federal oversight is required to ensure that the Chicago Police Department complies with reforms designed to curb police abuses.

Poll shows public wants independent investigations of police shootings

The spotlight will continue to shine on police misconduct in 2017. That is reflected in a recent Cato Institute poll that shows nearly 80 percent of the American public is in favor of having a neutral third party investigate police shootings and suspected cases of police brutality.

Currently, police keep investigations of police shootings internal. This has led to widespread criticisms of police cover-ups and failing to provide the public with information about fatal shootings.

July 30, 2014 - The Chicago City Council approved a $600,000.00 settlement with Erickson & Oppenheimer, Ltd. client Maria Munoz yesterday. Munoz was injured when Chicago Police Officer Joseph Treacy "t-boned" her car while conducting a "reckless" high-speed chase of a non-violent, attempt-theft suspect, in an unmarked squad, "without his lights and sirens." The 'black box' recovered from Treacy's squad car showed Officer Treacy was traveling at speeds in excess of 98 miles per hour during the pursuit. Munoz was the passenger in a car traveling in the opposite direction when Officer Treacy followed the suspects car across the center line and into on-coming traffic.