Coalition to March on the DNC Calls on Kim Foxx’s Office to Prosecute Police Officers Who Brutalize Protesters at DNC

On April 26th, the Chicago Tribune released a piece authored by their editorial board which quotes State’s Attorney Kim Foxx in stating that her office’s policy of not prosecuting peaceful protesters will not be in effect during the Democratic National Convention this coming August. 

This policy was put in place during the rebellion sparked by the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in 2020. The Inspector General released a report in February 2021 detailing the failures of CPD in responding to the protests that erupted following these murders by police. This report detailed the failure of CPD to follow the Consent Decree’s Use of Force policy, body-worn camera policy, and failure to engage in de-escalation tactics required by the Consent Decree. Anyone who was present at those demonstrations throughout the summer of 2020 knows that the Chicago Police Department took every opportunity to escalate conflict with protesters. The OIG report describes that only 18% of arrests of protesters were properly recorded on body cameras. It also describes the extreme under-reporting of use of force incidents by CPD as is required by law. 

This pattern of police violence, escalation, and misconduct in response to family friendly protests has continued in response to the Palestinian-led rebellion against the genocide in Gaza that gained steam in October 2023. This was shown at the demonstration on November 18th, 2023, where CPD officers beat organizers and man-handled women on Dusable Lake Shore Drive. It was shown again on April 15th when CPD escalated violence against a demonstration in solidarity with Palestine taking the street.

Based on this practical experience of having organized and been present at demonstration after demonstration where the police served as the escalating force, our question for Kim Foxx and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office is: will you commit to prosecute officers who brutalize protesters at the Democratic National Convention this August?

Based on the data and our experiences, we can only assume that CPD and the other agencies tasked with policing the protests at the DNC will take your willingness to prosecute all kinds of protesters as encouragement for their escalation and brutality, as a blank check to repress and beat us with impunity. We urge you to stand with the right to free speech and assembly by prosecuting those cops who violate the law in response to protests instead of the protesters they have brutalized.