CPD releases new drafts of crowd control, arrest, protest policies ahead of DNC

Chicago police officers have already started training for the Democratic National Convention, but now, with less than 10 weeks to go before delegates flood the Windy City, the department is asking the public to weigh in on new crowd control and arrest policies.

Community groups have been critical of previous policies they said did not protect First Amendment rights. The Chicago Police Department's new Response to Crowds suite of directives respond to those public concerns.

The directives, which were recently posted on CPD’s website, are the second chance for public engagement. Initially, CPD’s mass arrest policy was available in February to review.

Public comment is now open through June 30. After that, CPD will review the additional feedback received to guide future revisions to the drafts.

A key takeaway from the department's new policies relates to crowds, First Amendment assemblies (previously called "protests") and civil disturbances: "Force will only be used when it is objectively reasonable, necessary, and proportional."

CPD also said "mass arrests are a last resort" and officers will attempt to peacefully resolve situations first.

Police departments, both locally and across the country, have revised their mass arrest policies since the civil disturbances tied to George Floyd’s murder in 2020.

"I certainly appreciate what we've learned as a result of the civil unrest with the murder of George Floyd and have taken that in consideration along with public sentiment and public comments," said Ald. Chris Taliaferro of the city's 29th Ward on Tuesday following a meeting of the city’s Committee on Police and Fire.

Additionally, the decision to begin large-scale enforcement action, including physical arrests beyond isolated incidents, must be made by a CPD supervisor designated as the incident commander or field commander.

The CPD supervisor has the authority to declare a coordinated multiple arrest incident, previously called a "mass arrest." The commander will consider factors such as whether the department has sufficient resources, if a continued police presence is necessary for public safety, the number of potential arrestees, the nature of the situation and circumstances of the incident.

CPD also said crowd dispersal orders will only be given under limited circumstances, namely when three people or more are committing acts of disorderly conduct likely to cause substantial harm, and there have been multiple opportunities to disperse. Officers will give warnings prior to arrest when circumstances allow.

Ald. Bill Conway of the 34th Ward said he feels top police officials are striking a balance between First Amendment rights and public safety.

"It seems like the superintendent is instilling those best practices among the police officers. Every convention and every event, there are protests," Conway said. "And that is something that our police officers have to be able to handle."

As CPD vows not to repeat what happened in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention of 1968, policies like the use of batons and chemical agents like pepper spray were revised nearly a year ago.

Officers are "not to use batons to intentionally strike a person in the head or neck except when deadly force is justified," according to the policies. Chemical agents are an authorized force option against an assailant when the person is "using or threatening to use force which is likely to cause physical injury."

An officer is also required to use de-escalation techniques to prevent the need for force unless that would place that officer or someone else in immediate risk of harm or de-escalation techniques would be "clearly ineffective."

CPD’s draft policies also detail when to use pepper spray for active and passive resisters. It is set to be used "only after authorization from the superintendent or designee."

Ald. Nicole Lee of the 11th Ward emphasized the need for proper training.

"The superintendent has assured me that everybody’s getting training," Lee said. "I think that there’s been a lot of learnings from George Floyd, even to now with all of the protests on ceasefire and [the] Gaza-Israel conflict. So, my hope is that everybody is prepared for this."