About 150 protesters were locked out of City Hall Tuesday when they tried to march in for a demonstration against police brutality.
Led by Rev. Paul Jakes and an estimated 40 community activist and religious organizations, the group demanded that Mayor Richard Daley address allegations of police brutality by implementing a civilian review board.
“We’re concerned that cronyism has creeped into the Police Board,” Jakes said, referring to the Chicago Police Department’s current system for handling complaints through the Office of Professional Standards.
“We want subpoena power and the power to fire officers who violate the trust of the citizens of Chicago,” said Jakes, pastor of the Old St. Paul Baptist Church.
Several protesters called for the city to model its review board after those in San Francisco, Minneapolis and Philadelphia.
Jakes criticized the mayor for defending police or remaining silent, a point the minister said was emphasized by the locked doors of City Hall.
In a news conference Tuesday, Daley said police Supt. Terry Hillard “will not accept one ounce of brutality.” The mayor added that the worst kind of brutality in the city is the type the police combat every day.
This violence is committed by drug dealers and other criminals who prey on innocent citizens, Daley said.
When the protesters applied for a parade permit, they estimated a turnout of 1,000 people but did not ask permission to come inside City Hall, Daley spokesman John Camper said.
Seven teams of civilian investigators in the Office of Professional Standards handle complaints of excessive force and one investigates domestic violence, said OPS coordinator John Buchanan. No plans have been made for an independent civilian group, he said.
The demonstrators gathered at noon at the Harold Washington Library for a rally, then marched down Dearborn Street to City Hall. After the lockout, the rally continued in front of the Daley Center at Washington and Clark Streets. Although they sometimes blocked traffic, the marchers were orderly.
Participants included residents of the Cabrini-Green Chicago Housing Authority complex, religious leaders and members of the Christian Council on Urban Affairs, which Jakes said he will now head after stepping down from his leadership of the Police Brutality Committee.
