By Chris Hacker
Knowledge obtained by the CBS 2 Investigators sheds new gentle on Chicago Law enforcement officials’ use of firearms, and reveals for the primary time simply how usually officers level weapons at folks with out firing.
Discover the information
Map: Chris Hacker, CBS Chicago • Supply: CPD information obtained via a Freedom of Info Act request
In 2019, the Chicago Police Division started requiring officers to report once they level a gun at somebody. These so-called “firearm pointing incidents” give the general public the primary glimpse of how regularly officers level their weapons at folks, the place these incidents occur, and the way regularly they finish in arrest.
A lot of the firearm pointing incidents occurred on town’s South and West sides — locations predominantly populated by folks of shade which see the best ranges of gun violence, accordPreview Changes (opens in a new tab)ing to metropolis information analyzed by CBS 2
CBS 2 was the first to report on this data when it was first out there. Now, new information from CPD’s Drive Evaluate Unit makes it potential for the primary time to see the circumstances surrounding every incident. The information reveals that, more often than not, nobody is arrested after an officer factors his or her gun at somebody with out firing.
The information CBS 2 obtained covers November 2019 via mid-June 2021. Nevertheless it doesn’t cowl each gun pointing incident. Officers solely should report once they level their weapons instantly at somebody, not once they take away a gun from its holster. As well as, some specialised officers similar to these in SWAT groups or these formally assigned to federal activity forces don’t should report once they level their weapons in any respect.
CBS 2 reached out to CPD about this new information, however the division hasn’t responded.
