AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/tag/chicago-police-department/)
Speaking at the monthly meeting of the 15th Police District’s faith-based leaders group, Richard Wiser acknowledged that detectives have at times been insensitive in dealing with the families of murder victims. Wiser, commander of the Area Four Detective Division, which includes Austin, pledged the department would do better and asked West Siders for recommendations on how police can do better.
Four years after her son’s murder, Sharita Galloway is still fighting for Chicago Police to solve his case. She said the person CPD identified as her son’s killer didn’t commit the crime, but detectives won’t listen to her. Victim advocates say it’s a problem for more than just Elijah Sims’ mother that police don’t communicate with family members, and that gives the impression they aren’t interested in solving cases.
The Leaders Network, a social justice group based on the West Side, sent letters earlier this week to four of Chicago’s U.S. House members demanding there be congressional hearings. The letter was sent to Reps. Danny K. Davis, Chuy García, Bobby Rush and Robin Kelly. Congressman Davis will meet with faith leaders Dec. 31.
The tree displayed outside the 15th District police station at 5701 W. Madison St. was donated by ComEd after a city forester noticed several spruces planted a few miles away on the utility’s property. The tree that was donated was growing too close to power lines and could have at some point caused power disruptions.
Last week’s meeting, held via Zoom was the second of two “community conversations” the Chicago Police Department is holding as it crafts a strategic plan for 2021. Each district is coming up with a plan as part of the consent decree the department signed in March 2019 with the U.S. Department of Justice.
If true reforms do not happen right away, we need to eliminate our current system, writes state Rep. La Shawn Ford. The Austin lawmaker says this is not about individual police officers or bad apples; this is about a system that is inherently flawed.
While fewer people are illegally gathering than before, 15th District Commander Yolanda Talley says residents must stop congregating outside. “People in our community need to take this a lot more seriously,” Talley said of the state’s nearly 3-week-old, stay-at-home order.
The Chicago Police Department has expanded its narcotics arrest diversion program to the 15th District in Austin. It helps individuals apprehended for opioid-related offenses by allowing them to seek treatment when they’re arrested.
The Chicago Police Department is seeking volunteers for its Use of Force Working Group. The deadline to apply is Feb. 29.
Mirroring a trend across Chicago, Austin reported 10 fewer homicides in 2019. Forty-seven people were killed, down from 57 in 2018, according to the Chicago Sun-Times homicide tracker.