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.

A still image of 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 in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. (Chicago Police Department)

State’s attorney’s office declines to file charges against CPD officers in Dexter Reed shooting

August 13, 2025 at 5:42 p.m.

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has declined to file charges against Chicago police officers who fired dozens of shots at Dexter Reed in a shooting that roiled the city...

A person walks past Chicago Public Safety Headquarters on Dec. 1, 2023. (Talia Sprague/Chicago Tribune)

Appellate Court rules CPD discipline cases should remain public

August 8, 2025 at 5:36 p.m.

A panel of Illinois Appellate Court judges on Friday upheld a previous court ruling that mandated public access to the most serious cases involving alleged misconduct by Chicago police officers.

Kevin Jackson, center, mingles with supporters at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Aug. 6, 2025. Jackson is seeking his certificate of innocence. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Outside prosecutors assigned to case as Kevin Jackson continues push for certificate of innocence

August 6, 2025 at 6:44 p.m.

Nine months after an Illinois appeals court called the circumstances surrounding the murder case against a Chicago man "extraordinary" and reversed his convictions, his quest for an on-paper exoneration in...

John Foster, CPD commander of Area 5 detectives, at a news conference announcing charges in multiple criminal sexual assault investigations, at Chicago Public Safety Headquarters, April 7, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Growing calls of ‘no confidence’ in CPD commander tied to wrongful murder conviction

August 3, 2025 at 9:01 a.m.

At least two CPD district councils plan to hold symbolic no-confidence votes in John Foster, the commander of Area 5 Detectives, who oversees the investigations into the most serious crimes...

Then-Chicago police Internal Affairs Chief Yolanda Talley speaks May 1, 2022, at the Gold Star Families Memorial and Park outside Soldier Field during the St. Jude Police League Memorial March and Service. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

CPD’s second-in-command gets dramatically different responsibilities in shakeup

July 31, 2025 at 6:15 a.m.

The second-in-command of the Chicago Police Department appears to have been stripped of virtually all of her duties related to the department’s daily operations, according to a new organizational chart...

People enter the Cook County assessor's office in Chicago on May 24, 2017. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

2 years probation for former assessor’s employee who pleaded guilty to bribery

July 29, 2025 at 5:24 p.m.

A former employee in the Cook County assessor’s office was sentenced to two years of probation Tuesday after a federal judge credited his extensive cooperation with investigators.

Julia Tate sits on the front steps of her home in the Cabrini rowhouses on July 23, 2025, in Chicago. Her cousin, Devon LaSalle, 41, was fatally shot nearby on July 13. Remnants of a memorial for him can be seen to her left. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Neighborhood ties still propel violence in a changing Cabrini-Green

July 29, 2025 at 7:48 a.m.

It’s been two decades since there were slayings so close together in the Cabrini-Green rowhouses, a patch of 146 public housing units ringed by new construction in the well-heeled River...

A chart showing yearly cases decided by the Chicago Police Board is shown during a monthly board meeting at CPD headquarters on Feb. 20, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

CPD officer faces suspension over marijuana test, not firing

July 23, 2025 at 5:07 p.m.

In years past, a Chicago Police Officer who tested positive for cannabis would face firing from CPD, but no more.

Lt. Richard DeFelice of the Chicago Police Department's Tactical Review and Evaluation Division speaks from its office on July 1, 2025, where they review use-of-force incident footage. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

CPD officers reporting use of force more often, as video becomes important training tool

July 15, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Body-worn camera footage serves as valuable training material for the city’s Police Department in its post-Laquan McDonald era of reform.

Father of drill rapper whose party was targeted in mass shooting hit with federal weapons charges

July 9, 2025 at 7:20 p.m.

The father of the Chicago drill rapper whose album release party was targeted in a mass shooting in River North on July 2 has been hit with federal weapons charges...

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