Union Boss: Weis Shows 'Real Lapse In Leadership'
UPDATED October 20, 2010 - 5:39 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two Chicago police officers have been cleared of wrongdoing in an ongoing investigation into the alleged beating of a handcuffed suspect.
The officers were two of seven Chicago cops stripped of their police powers while the incident is under investigation and Chicago FOP President Mark Donahue said Police Supt. Jody Weis's handling of the case showed a "real lapse in leadership."
CBS 2's Vince Gerasole reports that GPS records indicate the two officers were nowhere near the alleged beating when it took place and couldn't have taken part.
The GPS records were only examined by the Independent Police Review Authority at the request of the Fraternal Order of Police as two of their members tried to clear their names from brutality charges.
"The department then reinstated their full police powers but has done nothing to do anything about the embarrassment that these officers have suffered in front of their colleagues and families and having their reputations tarnished," Donahue said.
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The police union, which has criticized Weis from day one for going public at all, has threatened legal action over the superintendent's handling of the case.
Wednesday morning on CBS 2 Morning News, Weis said he "thought it was best to get these officers off the street," in the wake of the allegations. "We just can't have people engaging in brutality and that's unacceptable behavior."
At the time, Weis made no mention that two of the officers stripped of their duties had been cleared and reinstated 12 hours earlier.
That prompted a harsh rebuke from Donahue, who said it was either a "real lapse in leadership" if Weis wasn't aware the officers had been cleared or a "slap in the face" if he did know and didn't mention it.
"He didn't even have the decency or recognize that these officers had been cleared in his latest TV appearance this morning," Donahue said.
The FOP was still fuming after the two officers were cleared; especially because at their insistence the GPS records of the officers' cruiser was examined, placing the pair far away from 79th and Vincennes where the alleged police beating of a handcuffed and unruly suspect is said to have happened.
The event was reportedly caught on video tape
"My standard is always reasonable and from what I saw this wasn't reasonable," Weis said.
The FOP has criticized Weis for offering few details of the incident since Friday, when the first officer, a Chicago police sergeant, was reassigned to desk duty.
Only through anonymous sources has it been learned the case involved personnel from the Gresham District. Even the officers stripped of their powers haven't been given a reason why.
"None of the facts were given out. We still don't have the facts and that's where the problem is," Donahue said.
Regarding the now-cleared officers, late Wednesday afternoon the Police Department issued the following statement:
"The Chicago Police Department was notified by the Independent Police Review Authority that two of the seven officers which IPRA initially recommended be relieved of police powers in the misconduct investigation have been excluded from the investigation.
"Based upon this information, the Department took swift action to restore these officers' police powers and return them to field assignment.
"It is important to note that relief of powers does not constitute discipline."
But Weis's decision to go public with any information while the investigation is still in its infancy, and apparently still changing is an insult, according to the FOP.
"I think it's a poor, reckless decision the superintendent made," Donahue said.
Police sources have said that the handcuffed suspect was overheard in the lockup calling a relative who works for the Independent Police Review Authority, which is investigating the case. The IPRA had no comment.
WATCH: Jody Weis on CBS 2 Morning News
