Sam Charles – Page 21

Then-COPA Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten appears before aldermen during a Chicago City Council budget hearing on Nov. 9, 2024. (Tess Crowley/baiduhai)

Documents show crisis of confidence that led to COPA chief’s exit

March 11, 2025 at 1:45 p.m.

Rancor among the staff at the Civilian Office of Police Accountability was the driving force behind the recent effort to remove the agency’s former chief administrator, Andrea Kersten, records obtained...

John Fulton, right, walks away after hugging Anthony Mitchell at a press conference outside the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on March 10, 2025, after a federal jury awarded over $120 million in damages to the men in their civil trial for wrongful conviction. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Federal jury awards $120 million in wrongful-conviction case

March 10, 2025 at 9:32 p.m.

A federal jury in Chicago on Monday awarded $120 million in damages to two wrongfully convicted men who spent more than 15 years in prison.

Afternoon shadows fall on a residential tower in the 1200 block of South Prairie Avenue, center, on Nov. 7, 2024, in Chicago where Caitlin Tracey was found dead. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

Husband of Caitlin Tracey, woman found dead in South Loop stairwell last year, ordered sent to Michigan following warrant

March 10, 2025 at 2:17 p.m.

Adam Beckerink, who has not been charged in Caitlin Tracey's death, appeared Monday in court in Cook County and was ordered sent to Michigan.

Andrea Kersten, chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, gives an update on July 18, 2023, into the alleged sexual misconduct involving Chicago police officers and migrants sheltered in a police station. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

After 4 years leading COPA, departing chief reflects on time at police oversight agency

March 3, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Andrea Kersten often faced harsh criticism in the wake of high-profile Chicago police shootings. As she leaves, she says COPA is primed to effectively continue its oversight.

A police investigator and an area resident cross crime scene tape in the 3800 block of 114th Street, Feb. 28, 2025, in Chicago. A police officer was involved in a shooting in the nearby Eggers Grove forest preserve and a man was shot and taken to a hospital. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

Person critically wounded by police in East Side shooting

February 28, 2025 at 6:52 p.m.

A person was shot and critically wounded by a Chicago police officer in the city's East Side neighborhood Friday afternoon, officials and police sources said. Authorities said the shooting occurred...

Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke announces multiple murder charges against Antonio Reyes, 21, for killings that occurred in 2020, during a news conference at Chicago Public Safety headquarters on Feb. 26, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Man now charged in 6 ‘serial’ killings across Southwest Side in 2020

February 27, 2025 at 4:29 p.m.

Prosecutors have accused a 21-year-old who was already in jail on a murder charge of five additional murders over a nine-month period in 2020, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling announced.

COPA General Counsel Robin Murphy, far left, speaks during the monthly Chicago Police Board meeting at CPD Headquarters on Feb. 20, 2025. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

Chicago Police Board meets for first time without exiting COPA leader

February 21, 2025 at 2:40 p.m.

The Chicago Police Board held its first meeting since the head of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability said she was stepping down.

Chicago police headquarters on Jan. 4, 2022. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

With ongoing slowdown of police discipline in Chicago, department is turning to internal controls

February 18, 2025 at 6:15 p.m.

While proceedings in high-profile police misconduct cases slowed to a trickle in 2024, the number of disciplinary actions initiated by Chicago Police Department supervisors nearly doubled from 2023, according to...

Andrea Kersten, chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, appears before aldermen to justify the department's 2025 budget during City Council budget hearings at City Hall on Nov. 9, 2024. (Tess Crowley/baiduhai)

Nationwide search expected to find next COPA chief

February 14, 2025 at 11:10 a.m.

The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability announced Friday that the body will conduct a nationwide search to find the next leader of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability,...

Jamie Rhee, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Aviation, speaks at the ribbon cutting for Veteran Roasters and Brown Sugar Bakery in Terminal 3 at O’Hare International Airport on Dec. 3, 2024. (Stacey Wescott/ baiduhai)

Three top city officials stepping down after Mayor Brandon Johnson’s message: ‘If you ain’t with us, you just gotta go’

February 14, 2025 at 11:58 a.m.

Three members of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration announced their exits Thursday, days after the mayor delivered a warning about purging city officials who lacked loyalty to him.

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