Settlement In Chicago Cops' Lawsuit Spares Emanuel From Testifying On Code Of Silence
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Emanuel administration has agreed to pay $2 million to settle a lawsuit filed by two Chicago police officers who claimed they were victims of retaliation after blowing the whistle on corruption. The deal spares the mayor from possibly having to testify about a "code of silence" within the department.
The settlement was announced as a trial was set to begin on a federal lawsuit filed by officers Shannon Spalding and Daniel Echeverria.
"Shannon and Danny should be seen for the heroes they are," said attorney Jeffrey Taren. "That's what this case was about. seeing misconduct and doing something about it.
"We've said from the beginning that if no other officer has to walk in our shoes, it'll be worth everything that I lost personally, which includes the job that I love so much," Spalding said.
Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman ruled the officers would be allowed to call Mayor Rahm Emanuel to testify about the existence of a code of silence in the Chicago Police Department. The mayor had acknowledged such a code exists in a speech to the City Council in December, amid the fallout over the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke.
"The problem is sometimes referred to as the thin blue line. The problem is other times referred to as the code of silence. It is this tendency to ignore. It is a tendency to deny. It is a tendency in some cases to cover up the bad actions of a colleague or colleagues. No officer should be allowed to behave as if they are above the law just because they are responsible for upholding the law. Permitting and protecting even the smallest acts of abuse by a tiny fraction of our officers leads to a culture where extreme acts of abuse are more likely, just like with what happened to Laquan McDonald," he said at the time.
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The settlement means Emanuel won't have to expound on those comments on the witness stand, but the officers' attorney, Jeffrey Taren, said the settlement isn't about the mayor.
"This case did not depend upon the testimony of the mayor. We asked the court to have him testify so we could memorialize, for once and forever, under oath, what's already been publicly acknowledged regarding the code of silence," he said.
Spalding and Echeverria sued the city in 2012, claiming they were blackballed by the department for coming forward with allegations their superiors told them to ignore evidence of wrongdoing by Sgt. Ronald Watts in 2007. They later took their claims to the FBI, and Watts and another officer were arrested and pleaded guilty to stealing drug proceeds from an informant posing as a drug courier.
"Ninety-nine percent of the officers work with integrity and honesty, and serve; and they dedicate their lives, and they don't want to work with corruption; and now I think they're going to begin to have the resources and the avenues they need to report it, and that's a win. For us, that's a win," Spalding said.
She said the case wasn't about money, but about change in the department, and she said the settlement is just a first step.
"I think the city is making steps to move in the right direction, and hopefully that will change greatly very quickly, and other officers should be able to come forward without fear of retaliation. Change is upon us. It's a new city of Chicago. It's a new department," she said.
The settlement must be approved by the City Council.
Mai Martinez with CBS 2 and Lisa Fielding with WBBM Newsradio contributed to this report.
