Residents, community activists and elected officials on Sunday called on Mayor Brandon Johnson to fire police officers with ties to the Oath Keepers extremist group and form a task force to address the problem.
Those gathered at Movement on Montrose, 2951 W. Montrose in Irving Park, urged the mayor to act on the Office of the Inspector General's recommendations for the task force and to reopen the probe into the eight officers, saying they didn't trust the CPD investigation.
"The OIG's office has compared this scandal to a time in the 1960s when a CPD officer was fired for being a KKK member," said Grace Patino of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, one of the organizers of the event. "Make no mistake, nothing about this situation is normal or should be made to feel normal."
Attendees also heard a presentation from Deputy Inspector General Tamara Richardson on how the agency operates. There was also a panel, including Alds. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) and Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th), to discuss the issue and how it affects constituents.
"It's time to act with urgency as we see the rise of fascism in the country," Sigcho-Lopez said at a news conference ahead of the panel discussion. "Here in Chicago we know better, here in Chicago we protect human rights, and we respect the rights of our constituents to be safe."
The CPD investigation into the eight officers began in October 2023, when WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project reported on the misconduct records of cops tied to the anti-government group and detailed the police department’s apparent tolerance for extremism.
The Oath Keepers are an anti-government militia that aggressively recruits members from the military and law enforcement agencies. It played a key role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
The eight officers are Michael Nowacki, Anthony Keany, Alexander Kim, Alberto Retamozo, Bienvenido Acevedo, Dennis Mack, Matthew Bracken and John Nicezyporuk. None of them were punished after an investigation by CPD's Bureau of Internal Affairs was closed in the spring of this year.
In July the inspector general’s office said it reviewed the investigation and “found BIA’s investigation to suffer from deficiencies materially affecting its outcome.” The independent watchdog urged the department to reopen the investigation and called on City Hall to form a task force to address the problem.
The inspector general's office has also said police leaders could have charged the eight cops with breaking CPD rules against officers bringing “discredit upon the department.”
In October, the leading national civil rights group Color of Change and others sent a letter to the mayor alleging that the CPD investigation clearly “was a sham.”
Johnson and CPD Supt. Larry Snelling have promised they would have no tolerance for officers with extremist ties. The department has so far rebuffed calls to reopen the investigation. City Hall hasn't taken steps to form the task force.
"When the worm investigates its tail what does it find? A worm," said activist Frank Chapman. "Internal affairs looking into this matter, that's the worm investigating its tail. We want a real investigation."
Elizabeth Rochford, 17th Police District Council member, said she's heard from neighbors and constituents who are afraid that an Oath Keeper is patrolling their communities.
"I feel afraid of officers who might be tied to any extremist group, both for myself but more so for the Black and Brown neighbors as well as anyone from marginalized communities," Rochford said. "I hope that my fear and that of the community is taken seriously and there is swift action on these matters."
