Why are ACLU Mandates on Chicago Police Never Mentioned as Cause of Violence?

This article was published by the McAlvany Intelligence Advisor on Friday, February 3, 2017:

When Garry McCarthy (shown) was Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) in 2015, he knew that the mandates contained in the deal his department struck with the ACLU wouldn’t work in reducing crime. But, said McCarthy, “I acquiesced to it because, you know, I’m trying to work with them [and] they’re trying to work with us.”

Now that he’s no longer with the CPD, he’s free to speak his mind. In an interview with the New York Daily News in December, McCarthy said Chicago “has completely flipped the script where [they now] investigate police and not criminals. As a result, [Chicago is] reaching a lawless state.”

He cited proof: the number of police stops has dropped precipitously since the ACLU agreement, from 157,000 in 2015 to 21,000 in 2016. He added: “If you just abandon all of the successful things that we do, this is going to happen.”

And again, on January 3, McCarthy pinned the blame on Black Lives Matter (BLM) for the rising level of gun violence, with the group filling the vacuum left by law enforcement backing away for fear of retribution, punishment, or worse if they fail to follow the new rules. On New Year’s Day, on “The Cats Roundtable” radio show, McCarthy said: “The simplest way to describe it is that [they] have created an environment where we have emboldened criminals [while] we are hamstringing the police.”

When the deal was struck back in August 2015, Dean Angelo, president of Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police, agreed with McCarthy: “I don’t see this [agreement] as an answer to the violence. This could be a contributor to the violence.”

Indeed, when one looks at the statistics, the link is confirmed: Prior to August 7, 2015, when the CPD agreed to the limits demanded by the ACLU, the annual murder rate in Chicago averaged 458 over the previous six years. In 2016, the first full year following the implementation of that agreement, the murder total in Chicago jumped to 762, an increase of 66 percent.

What does the agreement require of the CPD? Prior to implementation, CPD officers were required to complete a “contact card” if they made a stop, listing the citizen’s age, address, race, any distinguishing marks or tattoos, as well as the time, location, and reason for the stop. Under the ACLU mandate, those law enforcement officers must also indicate if they initiated a “Terry” stop, the reason for the frisk, and whether or not the citizen gave permission. Further, they must make certain that they do not consider race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation in making those stops.

Imagine: a law enforcement officer’s beat is the very center of Chicago’s criminal activity. Gangs roam the streets, drug deals are going down constantly, thugs are shooting each other (and bystanders) – and the ACLU wants – no, mandates – that the beat officer take into consideration not only whether a suspect might be behaving suspiciously, but whether he’s a sexual deviant, a black, a brown, a yellow, or a white, a male or a female. The officer, who might be facing mortal danger, then must ask permission to pat him down. But only after articulating the “probable cause” in his mind so he can put it onto the “contact card” that he’ll have to fill out afterwards, assuming he survives the incident.

It’s no wonder those officers are content to stay in the office, complete paperwork, and let the thugs fight it out among and between themselves, unmolested and unchallenged.

The ACLU, however, thinks this is a good thing. Harvey Grossman, legal director of the ACLU of Illinois, made it clear that he wanted CPD officers to make only “lawful investigatory” stops as a way to improve relationships with the minority community:

We think the city has agreed to a set of terms that, when implemented, will achieve not only constitutional stops but also will achieve transparency and improve community relations.

The West and South sides of Chicago are war zones, as Trump has repeatedly said. He has constantly said that if locals cannot control the rampant and escalating (January numbers this year exceed those of a year ago, again) violence, then he will “send in the feds.” He said it again on Monday night, during a White House celebration of African-American History Month. Darrel Scott, senior pastor of New Revival Center in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, told the president that some of Chicago’s gang members “reached out to me, because they’re associating me with you. They respect you. They believe in what you’re doing, and they want to have a sit-down about lowering [Chicago’s] body count.”

Trump responded:

I think that’s a great idea, because Chicago is totally out of control. If they’re not going to solve the problem … then we’re going to solve the problem for them, because we’re going to have to do something about Chicago, because what’s happening in Chicago should not be happening in this country.

Of course the Mayor, Rahm “never let an opportunity go to waste” Emanuel, hopes it will mean more federal intervention:

Send in more FBI, DEA, ATF agents. We don’t have to talk about it anymore. Just send them.

Invest in law enforcement with our Police Department … Move more FBI, DEA, ATF. They do a great job. Use the ability to prosecute gun crimes at the federal level, and maximize that potential.

Why are the ACLU mandates never considered as a (perhaps the) primary cause behind Chicago’s escalating horror? Why are McCarthy’s warnings largely ignored? Is this a setup? Is there another agenda in play here?

Sources:

Chicago Tribune: Violence in Chicago still stubbornly high; Trump reacts again

ChicagoCBSlocal: Chicago’s Violent Crime In January Matches Bloody Start Of 2016

ChicagoCBSlocal: Ohio Pastor Claims Chicago Gangs Want To Work With Trump To Fight Crime

New York Post: Trump says violence in Chicago is ‘totally out of control’

Chicago Tribune: ACLU, Chicago police agree to changes on controversial street stops

Background on former CPD superintendent Garry McCarthy

Fox News: Chicago Police Chief Garry McCarthy fired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel

New York Daily News: Ex-Chicago top cop blames Black Lives Matter for skyrocketing murder rates

New York Daily News: Former Chicago top cop blames city’s spike in violence on politicians’ interference with police business

What is a Terry stop?