Since the Cook County, Il., state's attorney's office released a list of current and former law enforcement officers it whose damaged credibility prevented them from being trusted as witnesses in court proceedings, the list has grown to 174 names, the Chicago Tribune reports. The latest list suggests that dozens of officers were omitted from the state’s attorney’s disclosure earlier this year, which was made as part of a lawsuit. A heavy majority of the names on the full list are members of the Chicago Police Department.
Several of the Chicago officers, including Jason Van Dyke, Ronald Watts, and Jeffrey Kriv, have faced criminal charges themselves. “The culture that allowed disreputable law enforcement officers to testify in court propelled Cook County’s reputation as the wrongful conviction capital of the country,” State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said. “Releasing our ‘Do Not Call List’ and updating our internal policy regarding witness disclosure are necessary steps to improve the office’s prosecutorial integrity and help rebuild public trust in our criminal justice system.” Among those newly added to the list are Robert Bakker, a CPD officer with ties to the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, and Reynaldo Guevara, a former CPD detective linked to dozens of felony convictions. Another recent addition to the list is a CPD officer who was shot in the arm on May 31 while off-duty on the Near West Side. The officer told police that he was fired upon while driving through an alley. Last month, though, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability said, “After review of third-party video and internal assessment, it is unclear and has not yet been determined that the officer was fired upon first.”
Comentarios