title
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING CALLING UPON THE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT TO COMMUNICATE AND COORDINATE WITH THE COOK COUNTY SHERIFF'S POLICE TO ADDRESS ISSUES RELATED TO THE PRACTICE OF "STOP AND FRISK," BY REVIEWING THE POLICIES OF THE SHERIFF RELATED TO MOTOR VEHICLE STOPS, SEARCHES AND SEIZURES, SUPERVISORY RANK AND RESPONSIBILITY, AND DETENTIONS
WHEREAS, despite the fact that the nation's attention has turned to police practices because of high profile killings, concerns about policing extend beyond the use of force and into the everyday interactions of police with community members; and,
WHEREAS, in black and Latino communities, these everyday interactions are often a "Stop and Frisk"; and,
WHEREAS, under the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968), officers are allowed to stop you if the officer has reasonable suspicion that you have been, are, or are about to be engaged in criminal activity. Once you are stopped, if an officer has reasonable suspicion that you are dangerous and have a weapon, the officer can frisk you, including ordering you to put your hands on a wall or car, and running his or her hands over your body; and,
WHEREAS, a report on "Stop and Frisk" police practices by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois, published this past Spring, contains troubling signs that the Chicago Police Department has a current practice of unlawfully using stop and frisk; and,
WHEREAS, "Stop and Frisk" is disproportionately concentrated in the black community. Last month's ACLU Report found that black Chicagoans were subjected to 72% of all stops, though they constitute just 32% of the city's population; and,
WHEREAS, the ACLU of Illinois, comparing stops to population, found that Chicagoans were stopped more than four times as often as New Yorkers at the height of New York City's stop and frisk practice; and,
WHEREAS, the abuse of stop and frisk is a violation of individual rights, but it also poisons police and community relations and directly impacts the bottom line for Cook County taxpayers by leading to arrests that would not have otherwise occurred, thereby burdening Cook County Courts and the Cook County Jail; and,
WHEREAS, the Cook County Sheriff operates pursuant to four specific policies that govern the procedures of the Cook County Sheriff's Police related to "stop and frisk," namely the following: Section 500 of the Cook County Sheriff's Police Supplemental Manual dealing with Motor Vehicle Stops; Section 312 of the Cook County Sheriff's Police Policy Manual dealing with Searches and Seizures; Section 201 of the Cook County Sheriff's Police Policy Manual on Supervisory Rank and Responsibilities; and Section 421 of the Cook County Sheriff's Police Policy Manual on Detentions; and,
WHEREAS, all units of county and local government stand to benefit by exchanging information regarding best practices;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Cook County President and the Board of Commissioners that the Chicago Police Department be urged to review the above-referenced policies of the Cook County Sheriff's Police, and meet with the Chief of the Cook County Sheriff's Police to discuss the manner in which these policies are implemented and whether these policies might be directly transferable to the work of the Chicago Police Department, particularly regarding "Stop and Frisk."
end