#66: Police Misconduct Costs Us Millions
The Chicago Police Department has a big problem with misconduct against civilians – both now and in the past. How much does this cost the city financially? What do the patterns of misconduct tell us? And why has the city done almost nothing to address those patterns?
With his colleagues at the Chicago Reporter, journalist Jonah Newman created a database with over 900 misconduct payouts over six years. He says not only can police misconduct can do a lot of damage -- inciting fear or upsetting the public trust that officers need to do their jobs, especially when their actions affect primarily people of color -- but also costs taxpayers millions.
Check out their reporting project here.