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PROPOSED SUBSTITUTE TO FILE 20-0304
(FPD Law Enforcement Committee 10/20/2020)
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE TEN SHARED PRINCIPLES OF THE ILLINOIS ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE AND THE ILLINOIS NAACP
WHEREAS, Cook County has seen numerous peaceful protests against police brutality in response to the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Jacob Blake, Sandra Bland, Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, Laquan McDonald, Breonna Taylor, and many others locally and across the nation; and
WHEREAS, studies have shown Black individuals have a disproportionate level of involvement in the criminal justice system; and
WHEREAS, according to the Chicago Tribune, from 2010 to 2015, Chicago Police Officers shot 262 people, killing 92, and with about four out of every five being Black males; and
WHEREAS, this body unanimously approved Resolution 20-0161 in February 2020, in support that the Forest Preserves Police Department is a unique and valuable asset to the region and which should remain a separate and distinct police department, as it serves and protects visitors and almost 70,000 acres of natural lands and property - one of the largest public conservation districts in the United States - by upholding and enforcing all state, county, and Forest Preserves laws and ordinances, and acknowledging again that Forest Preserves officers are sworn officers who received additional training in conservation from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Forest Preserves' Department of Resource Management, and archeological protection training from the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and perform a dual role: both the conventional duties of police officers and tasks and duties performed by conservation officers; and
WHEREAS, in response to the national outcry following the 2014 fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, and in recognition of the need for candid conversations about the past, present, and future of law enforcement-community relations, the Illinois NAACP State Conference and the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police created the Ten Shared Principles to guide reforms that eliminate the disproportionate negative impacts of policing on people of color; and
WHEREAS, the Ten Shared Principles affirm the following principles regarding the relationship between law enforcement and the communities and people they serve in Illinois:
1. We value the life of every person and consider life to be the highest value.
2. All persons should be treated with dignity and respect. This is another foundational value.
3. We reject discrimination toward any person that is based on race, ethnicity, religion, color, nationality, immigrant status, sexual orientation, gender, disability, or familial status.
4. We endorse the six pillars in the report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The first pillar is to build and rebuild trust through procedural justice, transparency, accountability, and honest recognition of past and present obstacles.
5. We endorse the four pillars of procedural justice, which are fairness, voice (i.e., an opportunity for citizens and police to believe they are heard), transparency, and impartiality.
6. We endorse the values inherent in community policing, which includes community partnerships involving law enforcement, engagement of police officers with residents outside of interaction specific to enforcement of laws, and problem-solving that is collaborative, not one-sided.
7. We believe that developing strong ongoing relationships between law enforcement and communities of color at the leadership level and street level will be the keys to diminishing and eliminating racial tension.
8. We believe that law enforcement and community leaders have a mutual responsibility to encourage all citizens to gain a better understanding and knowledge of the law to assist them in their interactions with law enforcement officers.
9. We support diversity in police departments and in the law enforcement profession. Law enforcement and communities have a mutual responsibility and should work together to make a concerted effort to recruit diverse police departments.
10. We believe de-escalation training should be required to ensure the safety of community members and officers. We endorse using de-escalation tactics to reduce the potential for confrontations that endanger law enforcement officers and community members; and the principle that human life should be taken only as a last resort; and
WHEREAS, the Ten Shared Principles asserts the importance of treating all persons with dignity and respect, and rejects discrimination toward any person on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, color, nationality, immigrant status, sexual orientation, gender, disability, or familial status; and
WHEREAS, the Ten Shared Principles emphasizes building strong relationships between law enforcement and communities of color through transparency, accountability, and honest recognition of past and present obstacles; and
WHEREAS, the Ten Shared Principles mandates de-escalation training to ensure the safety of both community members and officers, and supports the principle that human life should be taken only as a last resort; and
WHEREAS, the Ten Shared Principles resolves to replace mistrust with mutual trust wherever, whenever, and however possible; and
WHEREAS, this document is meant to support existing local and statewide efforts to eliminate police misconduct; and
WHEREAS, the Ten Shared Principles are a basis for improving relations between police officers and the residents they serve, creating a space for open dialogue, problem-solving that is collaborative, not one-sided; and
WHEREAS, nearly 200 police departments and law enforcement organizations have adopted the Ten Shared Principles since its inception in 2018; and
WHEREAS, Forest Preserves Chief of Police Sylvester Bush, as a member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, has supported the efforts of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and the NAACP in efforts related to the Ten Shared Principles since 2018 and it is already guiding the Forest Preserves of Cook County Police.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Forest Preserves of Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby support and endorse the ideologies outlined in the Ten Shared Principles for the Forest Preserves of Cook County Police; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Forest Preserves of Cook County Board of Commissioners encourages all police departments to adopt these principles, and pledges to support police departments in pursuit of these principles.
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