Over 100 Chicago police officers with sustained misconduct allegations excluded from prosecutor’s disclosure lists
COOK COUNTY – Chicago police officers are prohibited from making false or misleading statements under department policy, yet over 100 officers who have been found to violate this standard remain missing from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Brady list. These lists are critical for prosecutors, as they ensure that exculpatory evidence and any potential witness credibility issues are disclosed to defense attorneys, in line with legal obligations under U.S. Supreme Court rulings.
A recent investigation has revealed that many officers, including those involved in serious incidents of misconduct, continue to escape inclusion on these lists. Notably, a number of Chicago police officers found to have made false statements—deemed violations of Rule 14 by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA)—are still missing from the Cook County State’s Attorney Office’s (SAO) Brady lists. The missing names include officers implicated in the violent 2020 arrest of Leroy Kennedy IV, an incident that sparked an internal investigation, leading to sustained findings of misconduct against the officers involved.