New law requires police to issue 'stop receipts'
CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -- A new state law in 2016, mandates police officers give a “stop receipt” after they approach someone on the street.
This is just one piece of the widespread law enforcement reform passed in May in response to the deaths of two black men at the hands of white officers: the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in which the officer was not wearing a camera; and the death of Eric Garner, who died after an officer placed him in a chokehold in New York. Neither officer was charged.
The reform includes rules for police body cameras, largely prohibits chokeholds and demands more data collection when a person is stopped on the street.
State Senator Kwame Raoul of Illinois’s 13th district sponsored the “stop receipt” bill and said the paper will show the officer’s name, badge number and reason for stopping the pedestrian.
The Fraternal Order of Police President said the process is a cumbersome one and often redundant. Dean Angelo said the officers will fill out the receipt and a two-sided document that is also filled out when there is an arrest.
He said the department is still trying to familiarize the officers with the process.
A group who’s protested against Chicago’s police practices said this new law is a good thing.
“When we get into these situations with officers a lot of times they refuse to give their badge numbers and it's our right to know who they are,” said community organizer Ja’Mal Green.
The process will also collect data for research, who is being stopped, where and for what reason.
Others believe the receipts are not necessary and believe police have the right to talk to whoever they want to, however they want to.
“We hired these police to do a job and I think they are great at doing that job and I don't think they have to be handing out little cards to justify their existence,” said Scott Hootman.
Sen. Raoul said he started working on this legislation over a decade ago and hopes this will build trust between the police and the public.
Chicago’s police department also faces intense scrutiny over fatal shootings, including another white officer shooting a black teenager in 2014 and the weekend deaths of 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier and 55-year-old Bettie Jones, who was shot accidentally. Both LeGrier and Jones were black; the department has not provided the race of the officer or officers who fired the shots.
Chokeholds will only be allowed in cases of self-defense. And while police departments won’t be required to use body cameras, officers in agencies that do must have them turned on when they’re responding to calls or engaging with the public. A $5 increase in traffic tickets will fund a grant program to pay for cameras and officer training.
Illinois is among dozens of states that have passed some type of police-reform legislation after the deaths involving officers. The package of law-enforcement measures in Illinois had bipartisan support and the backing of police unions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.