Can Police Officers' Code Of Silence Be Broken?
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The mayor's speech Wednesday addressed what is sometimes called the "blue code of silence"--officers lying to cover for other officers.
CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports that code of silence was under discussion at a meeting held by the Chicago Urban League.
About 300 people attended the forum. Many say the mayor addressing the code of silence among officers is a good start, but they question whether he or anyone can actually end it.
It might be surprising to hear the mayor address it publicly, but the code is no secret to any officer.
"It's gone on for so long, as long as I know, and I was a police officer beginning over 30 years ago," said retired Chicago Police Officer Lorenzo Davis.
For nearly seven years, Lorenzo Davis also served as a supervising investigator for the Independent Police Review Authority, the agency tasked with investigating complaints against CPD officers.
When asked how often a cover-up seemed to be happening, Davis said cover-ups, "seemed to be happening routinely with excessive force cases and police involved shooting cases."
That's no surprise to Craig Futterman, a University of Chicago law professor who helped to get the Laquan McDonald dash cam video released. He says the code destroys trust in the police, but some officers feel they have no choice.
"You don't rat on a fellow police officers or else," Futterman said. "That's the end of your career, could be the end of your life."
Futterman says the mayor addressing the issue is a good start, but only action can end the code.
"You protect officers that come forward," Futterman said. "Anyone retaliates against them in any way shape or form, they're fired."
But Lakeisha Miller who attended the Urban League forum with her 10-year-old son says holding the police accountable is only one part of the solution.
The code of silence isn't just with the Police Department," she said. "I feel that the leadership in the city of Chicago, they all need to break their code of silence."
Public outrage over the Laquan McDonald shooting is driving these calls for more police accountability, but we should note, it was a member of law enforcement who broke the code of silence that started the ball rolling on the fight to get that dash cam video released.