Oct. 04--Protesting what they called police brutality and a lack of accountability by the mayor, more than 100 people demonstrated Saturday outside Chicago Police Department headquarters, for a short time cordoning off the entrance with yellow caution tape and declaring the site a crime scene.
Leaders of the event called for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to create a police auditor's office, and said they will be meeting with the mayor's office.
"The goal is really to address the continued brutality of police," said the Rev. Larry Dowling, pastor of St. Agatha Catholic Church in the Lawndale neighborhood, who is active with the Community Renewal Society, which organized the event.
Protesters arrived at the building carrying signs and chanting "no justice, no peace, no racist police." They cordoned off the front doors of the building with yellow caution tape -- which was later removed by police officers -- and displayed effigies dressed in black sweatshirts and jeans. They staged a mock trial.
Amid praying and singing, speakers cited statistics they said showed few officers are disciplined after investigations of excessive force. They said black Chicago residents are more likely to be shot by police than white residents, and that the Police Department has paid out hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements for abuse and misconduct in the past decade.
Adam Collins, a spokesman for the mayor, said his office was looking forward to continuing to work with the Community Renewal Society.
"We agree that accountability is important for those police officers whose actions do not reflect the values of the Police Department, which is why Chicago already has the most extensive system of civilian oversight of police in the country," he said.
The Rev. Chris Griffin, a Community Renewal Society leader and assistant pastor at First Baptist Congregational Church on Chicago's Near West Side, said the city's police accountability system is broken.
"Chicago Police Department cannot continue to act outside or above the law," he said.
Earl Walker spoke about his interactions with police, and referenced incidents outside Chicago that have become national symbols of what protesters say is a culture of impunity for police officers who kill black men and women.
"It seems as if the police just wanted to instill fear in us," he said.
Dowling said there are good officers in the department, but he was concerned about a culture that allows brutality. He hopes appointing an auditor outside the department will help rebuild trust between police and the community.
"We're not going to turn around on it," he said.
sfreishtat@tribpub.com
