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| doubtful she will run for re-election |
The Fraternal Order of Police wants a special prosecutor to replace Foxx’s office in any case where a police officer is a victim of a crime.
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Fraternal Order of Police President Kevin Graham speaking to reporters at a protest outside State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s downtown office on April 1. The union on Monday sent a letter to Foxx calling for special prosecutors to replace Foxx’s office in any case where officers are victims of crimes or are accused of misconduct. Sun-Times file photo
The union representing Chicago police officers wants a special prosecutor to replace Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx in any case where a cop is the victim of a crime or has been accused of misconduct.
Citing a “deep mistrust” of Foxx’s office in a letter dated Monday, the Fraternal Order of Police leaders
note that special prosecutors have been appointed to replace Foxx in two recent cases — an apparent reference to a judge’s order appointing a special prosecutor to re-investigate the criminal case against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett and Foxx’s decision to recuse herself from the prosecution of activist Jedidiah Brown after officer filed a petition claiming Brown battered them at a demonstration.
“A deep mistrust now exists between your office and ours. We no longer believe that your office will treat our members fairly either in the arrests they make or when they are victims of crimes,” reads the letter, signed by FOP President Kevin Graham, Vice Presidents Pat Murray and Martin Preib, and Legal Defense Co-Chair Robert Bartlett.
“We are therefore demanding that all cases in which our members are the victims of crimes or accused of misconduct be turned over to a special prosecutor. This is the only way we can guarantee fair treatment to our members.”
The letter goes on to claim “numerous allegations” that Foxx’s prosecutors have dismissed or reduced charges against defendants accused of crimes against police officers, and states that Foxx has “arbitrarily” dropped cases defendants have claimed they were wrongfully convicted because of police misconduct.
Foxx’s office released a statement Tuesday, calling the FOP’s letter a “stunt” and an effort to “divide.” The statement pointed that just last week, Foxx and Chicago police Supt. Eddie Johnson “joined other leading prosecutors and police chiefs at a national gathering in Washington, D.C. to build partnerships, agree upon a shared set of values, and address criminal justice reform and public safety – together.”
“This is a continued effort by the FOP to incite conflict and divide us when in fact, the State’s Attorney’s Office and the Chicago Police Department are working together to address violent crime in our communities....The SAO is committed to seeking justice on behalf of all crime victims and will not let this latest stunt deter us from our work,” the statement said.
In a statement, Johnson noted that he attended a national meeting with Foxx last week and that police officers and prosecutors work “side by side.” He said the state’s attorney “has (been) and will continue to be a formidable partner to CPD and our efforts to combat violence throughout Chicago.”
“We have much more work ahead and together, we are committed to solving one of our city’s largest challenges,” Johnson’s statement read.
The FOP’s letter is the latest salvo in the police union’s long-running critique of Foxx, who has come under fire for her handling of the Smollett prosecution since charges against the actor were dismissed in March without any apparent plea bargain — a development that was blasted by then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CPD Supt. Eddie Johnson, as well as an organization of suburban police chiefs and a union representing line prosecutors across the state. Union officials led a protest outside Foxx’s downtown offices in April, facing down counter-protesters.
In recent months, the FOP has tried, unsuccessfully, to block petitions by defendants seeking certificates of innocence — formal legal recognition that they were wrongfully convicted of crimes and have been exonerated — claiming that the certificates are used to buttress claims of abuse by Chicago police officers made in civil lawsuits.
She didn't get the memo. She is not the Public Defender. She is supposed to represent crime victims, not the offenders. Johnson is also complicit in this mess. He is supposed to back up his people instead of being a rubber stamp for liberalism.
ReplyDeleteKim Foxx on Wednesday fired back at Chicago police union officials who in a letter earlier this week said there is a “deep mistrust” between rank-and-file officers and Cook County’s top prosecutor.
ReplyDeleteIn a letter to Fraternal Order of Police President Kevin Graham, State’s Attorney Foxx wrote that she had doubts about the sincerity of the union’s concerns about her commitment to prosecuting crimes committed against police officers, and called out the union for not publicly denouncing purported white nationalists who stood among officers at a protest organized by the union in the spring.
The correspondence from Foxx comes after a conference call Wednesday morning with union leaders, to discuss complaints raised in a letter the FOP sent to Foxx, calling for her to appoint a special prosecutor to handle any criminal cases where a cop is the victim of a crime or has been accused of misconduct.
“I am always available to address the concerns of your members. However, I am once again left with the impression that your aim is simply to make news, not progress,” Foxx wrote in her letter.
Foxx expressed concerns that the union’s “public antics” had led to racist and misogynistic threats, and that she was frustrated that the union had made no statement about white nationalists who joined the April protest.
“You claimed you don’t support those behaviors, yet those individuals somehow find comfort in your camaraderie,” Foxx wrote.
Foxx states that her office has approved charges in 96% of cases in which a police officer is listed as a victim, and that 89% of those ended with a conviction. The letter does not go into detail as to whether those convictions were on lesser charges. A Foxx spokeswoman said Wednesday that the office has brought charges in some 2,000 cases where police officers were victims, most often for the count of aggravated battery of a police officer.
The exchange of letters is only the latest sign of a fraying of relations between Foxx and FOP leaders. After union leaders on Tuesday made their letter to Foxx public, CPD Supt. Eddie Johnson quickly issued a statement calling Foxx a “formidable partner” for the department’s fight against violence in Chicago.
The union has become increasingly vocal in its opposition to Foxx in the months since the state’s attorney’s office abruptly dropped criminal charges against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett for allegedly staging a hate crime near his Streeterville apartment. The decision drew an outraged response from Johnson and then mayor Rahm Emanuel, who filed a lawsuit against the actor seeking to recover some $130,000 spent on overtime for the officers who investigated the case.
A few days after the union staged their protest outside Foxx’s office in April, Foxx attended a rally at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and was on the stage as U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Chicago, denounced the FOP as the “sworn enemy of black people.” Union leaders cited that event as the basis to have Foxx replaced with a special prosecutor to handle a misdemeanor case against an activist accused of assaulting a police officer at demonstration. Foxx, who posed for a selfie with the activist Jedidiah Brown — who was also at the Rainbow PUSH rally — recused herself from the case.
Asked by the Chicago Sun-Times for a response to Foxx’s letter, FOP Second Vice President Martin Preib sent back a screenshot of the Brown-Foxx selfie from Brown’s Facebook page.
I see the Messiah in the picture on the left, AKA Jesse Jackson senior. He's on the same side as the poleases?
ReplyDeleteYou all raciss n shit.
ReplyDeleteAnd where did the Murph liberal comment go that backed the racist states attorney go ????
ReplyDeleteMaybe you know how it got there.
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