Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis has refused a federal judge’s order to release the names of officers who have at least five citizen complaints filed against them since 2000.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez had given Weis until 4 p.m. Friday to do so.
The list was being sought, along with a list of excessive-force complaints, by attorneys suing the city over an allegation that an officer falsely arrested and used excessive force against two children.
In court papers, Weis said handing over the names would “compromise officers’ performance, threaten safety, reduce morale and improperly impugn many officers’ otherwise well-deserved good reputations.”
Flint Taylor, one of the plaintiff’s lawyers, called Weis’ decision “an outrageous abuse by someone who is charged with enforcing the law and constitution.”
Taylor wants the names to show a pattern by the Chicago Police Department of covering up ’ misconduct. He said the names, if released, would be put under a court order limiting their use to the lawyers in the case.
The city also is fighting a judge’s order to release a similar list in another excessive-force lawsuit. That list names 662 officers who faced 10 or more citizen complaints between 2001 and 2006.
Twenty-eight Chicago aldermen want access to the list, too. The federal appeals court in Chicago is deciding whether the department should make it public.
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