Sam Charles

Sam Charles is a criminal justice reporter for the Chicago Tribune covering the Chicago Police Department. He was previously a staff reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times and an investigative producer at WGN-TV. He is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago.

Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling, second from left, walks near Michigan Avenue, Sept. 13, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling says increase in home searches coming after training boost

March 10, 2026 at 5:42 p.m.

The Chicago Police Department’s bolstered training in the execution of search warrants will soon mean an increase in residential searches by CPD officers, Superintendent Larry Snelling told a federal judge...

Judge denies expungement in former CPD officer’s murder case

March 9, 2026 at 4:25 p.m.

A Cook County judge on Monday denied the requests of a former Chicago police officer to expunge and seal records of his arrest and criminal trial in the fatal 2021...

Chicago police Officer Julius Givens, right, speaks to the media on April 29, 2021, along with Officer Rhonda Ward, after they located a 13-year-old shooting victim and transported him to a hospital on April 29, 2021. Givens has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city, alleging that he was kept from joining the police department’s SWAT unit because he is Black. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

CPD officer, shot after leaving FOP, alleges racial discrimination in SWAT

March 5, 2026 at 2:35 p.m.

A Chicago Police officer previously shot in the line of duty — who publicly rebuked his former union — has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city, alleging...

Erin Vogel, of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability’s 9th District Council, speaks during the public comment portion of a CCPSA monthly meeting at Hubbard High School on Chicago’s Southwest side on Feb. 26, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Calls continue for CPD to address tactics during Operation Midway Blitz

February 27, 2026 at 1:44 p.m.

Police accountability advocates from across the city gathered on the Southwest Side Thursday evening, continuing their calls for a public hearing with Chicago Police Department leadership to address CPD’s response...

Charged, acquitted and sued, former CPD Officer Pierre Tyler now seeks expungement in murder case

February 26, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Former Chicago police Officer Pierre Tyler was one of about a dozen petitions for expungement heard last week by a Cook County judge. But Tyler’s case was the only one...

Chicago Police Department recruits take the oath of office during a Chicago Police Department Graduation and Promotion Ceremony on July 22, 2025 at Navy Pier. The ceremony recognized graduates from three recruit classes as well as recently promoted captains, lieutenants, sergeants, detectives and field training officers. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago police workforce study calls for hundreds of cops, civilians to be hired

February 11, 2026 at 4:16 p.m.

A long-awaited analysis of the Chicago Police Department’s staffing and deployment calls for the hiring of hundreds more officers while urging scores of other positions be shifted to civilians.

A still image from a video released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability shows a group of Chicago police officers surrounding a vehicle driven by Dexter Reed, 26, moments before an "exchange of gunfire" in which Reed was fatally shot on March 21, 2024, on the West Side. (Chicago Police Department)

Officers in Dexter Reed shooting largely cleared of wrongdoing, records show

February 11, 2026 at 4:30 p.m.

The Chicago police officers involved in the March 2024 shooting of Dexter Reed were largely cleared of wrongdoing by investigators with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, city records show.

Andrea Kersten, chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, attends a Chicago Police Board meeting at police headquarters Feb. 22, 2024. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Federal judge dismisses whistleblower lawsuit from former COPA investigator

February 4, 2026 at 3:42 p.m.

A federal judge has dismissed a whistleblower lawsuit brought by a veteran police misconduct investigator against the city and the former chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson holds a news conference at City Hall on Jan. 27, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Cook County state’s attorney’s office reviewing legality of mayor’s immigration executive order

February 2, 2026 at 7:06 p.m.

The Cook County state’s attorney’s office on Monday said “a thorough analysis is being conducted” to assess the legality of a mayoral executive order that directs Chicago police to investigate...

Civilian Office of Police Accountability interim Chief Administrator LaKenya White, left, listens as the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability votes to nominate her for the permanent position of COPA chief administrator during a meeting at Malcolm X College in Chicago on Jan. 29, 2026. Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling is on the right. (Nate Swanson/for the Chicago Tribune)

Interim COPA chief nominated as permanent agency leader

January 30, 2026 at 3:24 p.m.

The city agency in charge of the Chicago Police Department’s oversight bodies announced Thursday that the interim leader of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability would be nominated to oversee...

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