CHICAGO — Members of the city’s police disciplinary panel overruled Chicago police Superintendent David Brown in two 2018 officer-involved shooting cases, records show, instances where the police boss called for more lenient punishments for three officers who investigators said should be fired.
The decisions by two Chicago Police Board members came after Brown disagreed with findings from the Civilian Office of Police Accountability that the officers who fired their weapons in each case should be dismissed from the Police Department. Records show it was the first two times Brown has disagreed with COPA on disciplinary matters, Chicago Tribune reported.
The decisions from board members Matthew Crowl and Steve Flores were announced during last month’s regularly scheduled monthly police board meeting, broadcast on a public-access television feed because of COVID-19-related restrictions.
Neither decision from Crowl or Flores means COPA’s findings were wrong and Brown’s conclusions were correct, according to the Tribune. But each case will now be presented to the rest of the nine-member board, possibly in the coming weeks. The full board will hear witness testimony and review other evidence before deciding whether the officers violated Police Department rules and should lose their jobs.
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