COPA—the main agency that investigates civilian complaints against Chicago police officers—suggested firing 59 officers in 2021, compared to 19 in 2020.
Between 2017 and 2019, a total of 12 officers were looking at being fired.
Chicago police chief David Brown acted on most termination suggestions from COPA since he took the helm in April 2020.
In cases that he disagreed, his dissents were often overruled by Chicago Police Board, according to an Epoch Times review of records.
In 2021, Brown opposed at least six sacking cases, five of which were later upheld by the board.
The police board has the final say on disciplinary actions where the civilian office and police chief disagree, according to city ordinances.
Once a sacking recommendation is final, the board conducts a quasi-judicial hearing, after which nine board members cast votes. An officer will be formally terminated if the majority of the members vote that way.
Historically, about half of the officers who went through the hearing were fired. Just under a third (30 percent) would quit prior to the hearing, according to records.
The number of Chicago police officers put forward for suspension also jumped significantly in 2021.
COPA recommended a 1-to-29-day suspension for 132 officers in 2021, a 50 percent increase from the year before.
As for over-30-day suspension suggestions, the number jumped threefold to 48 in 2021.
Though the office ramped up disciplinary recommendations in 2021, it did not conclude more investigations that year. Instead, the number of investigations concluded dropped 29 percent compared to 2020, according to the report.
COPA received 1,021 civilian complaints against officers under its jurisdiction in 2021.
Nearly half alleged violations of Fourth Amendment rights, such as improper search or seizure. One in four alleged excessive use of force.
The highest numbers of complaints came from the most violent neighborhoods on the South and West Side of Chicago, according to the report.
Garfield Park, the West Side neighborhood that saw most homicides in 2021, also complained most about police officers that year.
Each year, COPA completes around 200 to 300 cases, about half of which turned out to be either lacking evidence or unfounded, resulting in no disciplinary recommendations, according to the report.
At the end of 2021, the office had 1,704 pending cases under investigation.
