Investigation and charging criminal cases in officer-involved shootings
When a police officer is involved in a shooting, there are two separate inquiries that result:
- An administrative inquiry, to determine whether that officer followed department policies and applied proper tactics, and
whether he should be subject to discipline for his actions (such as suspension, firing, reassignment, etc). The CCSAO does not
play any role in this process.
- A criminal inquiry, to determine whether the officer’s actions violated criminal laws and he should be charged with a crime.
It is the job of the prosecutor to determine whether to file criminal charges. A criminal inquiry stemming from an officerinvolved shooting has three phases:
Investigation:
After a shooting, investigators gather facts
and evidence, talk to witnesses, conduct
forensic testing, etc.
In Chicago, IPRA (and in the future COPA)
is responsible for conducting the
administrative investigation of an officerinvolved shooting. Outside of Chicago,
ISP’s Public Integrity Task Force (PITF)
leads investigations.
The CCSAO also works with non-CPD law
enforcement (FBI, CCSAO investigators,
etc) to conduct portions of the
investigation.
An investigation can take days, weeks, or
even months, as investigators work to find
and interview witnesses, process physical
evidence, and find and review video
evidence.
Charging decision:
Once the evidence has been collected, it is
up to the prosecutor to decide whether
criminal charges should be filed. The
CCSAO is bound by state law, so the facts
and evidence must be evaluated in light of
the legal standards, to determine whether
the CCSAO believes it can meet its burden
of proof in a criminal case.
Note: under current Illinois law, there is
no way to enlist a special prosecutor
before a case gets filed. A special
prosecutor can only be appointed by a
judge; a judge only has jurisdiction over
the matter once there is a “case,” and
there is no “case” until a prosecutor has
made a decision to file charges.
Prosecution of a case:
If the prosecutor decides that charges
should be filed, the person gets arrested, a
case gets filed, and it gets assigned to a
judge.
- The first stop is bond court where a
judge decides whether the officer
should be held in jail until trial, or can
be released by paying a bond. The
CCSAO does not control the bond
decision; the judge does.
- The CCSAO or the judge may request
a special prosecutor at this stage if it
appears the CCSAO may have a
conflict that would make it hard to be
fair
- The case then gets prepared for a
trial. That process takes several
months. If the officer is found guilty
by a judge or jury, the judge will
determine a sentence.