A recent ruling by a federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought forth by the union representing Chicago police officers against the city’s police oversight agency, COPA. The lawsuit alleged that COPA’s investigations were flawed and violated the officers’ due process and equal treatment rights.
U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso determined that the officers do not have a constitutional right to a fair and impartial investigation. He also noted that none of the officers had faced any employment consequences as a result of COPA’s investigations, as they either successfully challenged recommended suspensions through arbitration or had pending arbitration decisions.
Judge Alonso referenced previous case law to support his decision, stating that employees do not have a protected property interest in the investigative process itself. He specifically mentioned that employees do not have a right to a “certain kind of employment investigation.”
The lawsuit included disciplinary cases against eight Chicago police officers, but the judge found that arbitrators had already overturned four of the suspensions. For the remaining cases, the arbitrations were still ongoing and not yet finalized.
In his ruling, Judge Alonso emphasized that the officers had not been deprived of continued employment, as the suspensions had been either vacated or were pending arbitration decisions. He concluded that the officers had not suffered any deprivation of a property interest, and therefore, their due process claim based on continued employment was dismissed.
It is important to note that Judge Alonso’s dismissal was made without prejudice, allowing the defendants to pursue the matter again in the future if they choose to do so.
This decision was first reported by the Cook County Record, highlighting the ongoing legal battle between Chicago police officers and COPA.
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