Photo Courtesy of Unsplash (Matt Popovich)
In a shocking turn of events, the Chicago Police Department is now facing a federal lawsuit that accuses them of targeting Black and Latino Chicagoans with a massive campaign of traffic stops over the past six years.
The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois on Tuesday, claims that the department made over 1 million traffic stops between 2016 and 2022, specifically targeting individuals from these communities while sparing White Chicagoans.
This lawsuit marks the latest chapter in what the ACLU describes as the department’s “long and sordid history” of racist discrimination. The lawsuit seeks to certify the case as a class action, potentially covering millions of Chicagoans who have been affected by these discriminatory practices.
“While defendants have changed their mass stop tactics over time as each iteration was found or shown to be unlawfully discriminatory, defendants’ overall strategy has remained consistent for decades: stop and harass — and often physically harm — hundreds of thousands of Black and Latino Chicagoans every year, almost all of whom are simply trying to go about their daily lives and get to work, school, errands, family obligations and the like,” the lawsuit states. “Defendants’ mass traffic stop program is simply the newest chapter in their long and sordid history of employing mass-stop policing tactics that discriminate on the basis of race and national origin, touted as a campaign to supposedly fight crime in Chicago.”
The lawsuit alleges that these traffic stops were based on dubious evidence of minor violations and were primarily aimed at Black and Latino Chicagoans.
According to the lawsuit, officers often justified the stops by claiming to witness infractions such as burned-out headlights or expired vehicle registration stickers.
However, the data presented in the lawsuit paints a concerning picture.
According to the report, while officers were more likely to find drugs or weapons in cars driven by White Chicagoans, they were far more likely to search vehicles driven by Black Chicagoans. Additionally, approximately 70% of the vehicles searched during traffic stops between 2016 and 2022 were driven by Black Chicagoans, despite making up less than 30% of the city’s population.
The increase in traffic stops has not resulted in a significant reduction in crime. The lawsuit cites data that shows officers found drugs in just 0.3% of the traffic stops conducted during the specified period and weapons in only 0.05% of stops. Furthermore, only 3.4% of traffic stops in 2022 resulted in a citation, indicating that the majority of stops were unnecessary and ineffective in addressing public safety concerns.
The lawsuit also alleges that former Mayors Rahm Emanuel and Lori Lightfoot enforced a system of quotas, pressuring officers to pull over a certain number of cars during their shifts or face consequences.
It further claims that police officials failed to report tens of thousands of traffic stops as required and failed to properly train and supervise officers in compliance with departmental policy.
The impact of these discriminatory practices goes beyond the inconvenience and humiliation experienced by those stopped by the police. According to the lawsuit, these traffic stops hinder community cooperation, essential for effective crime prevention and investigation, and divert valuable police resources away from critical public safety needs.
“Not only do these discriminatory traffic stops, frisks and searches cause people of color in Chicago to suffer fear, terror and embarrassment, as well as physical harm when stops escalate to violence, the mass traffic stop program decreases public safety by hindering community cooperation that is essential for effective crime prevention and investigation, and it diverts police resources away from critical public safety needs such as responding to 911 calls and completing criminal investigations,” the lawsuit states.
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The Chicago Police Department has been under scrutiny for its practices in recent years, and this lawsuit only further highlights the urgent need for reform. As the case progresses, it is not certain how the department will respond to these serious allegations and what actions will be taken to address the systemic racism and discrimination alleged in the lawsuit.
In the pursuit of justice and equality, it is essential to hold law enforcement accountable for their actions and ensure that all individuals, regardless of their race or ethnicity, are treated fairly and without prejudice. Only then can we truly strive for a society that upholds the principles of justice and equal rights for all.