The handgun was stolen from a room full of police officers at the Gresham District station and ended up being used in crimes including the shooting of Twanda Willingham, who’s now suing.
Criminal Justice & Public Safety
Posted inFollow-Up
Family of Slain Chicago Police Officer Krystal Rivera, Shot in Back by Fellow Officer, Calls For Independent Investigation, Full Transparency From CPD
The family is asking for the Illinois State Police to take over the investigation as their attorney says CPD’s story of what happened doesn’t “pass the smell test.”
Posted inFollow-Up
Chicago Cop Who Inadvertently Shot and Killed Partner Has Lengthy Disciplinary Record over Short Career
Officer Carlos A. Baker has had more than a dozen complaints against him, records show.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
Jobs. Block Clubs. Investment: How Chicagoans are Interrupting Violence at its Roots
The causes and solutions to gun violence are difficult to quantify—or control. One thing is clear: gun violence is highest in Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods.
Organizers in the hardest-hit communities like Garfield Park say tackling poverty is the only way to create lasting change.
Posted inStatewide Investigations
[Video] Strapped Down: Investigating Restraint Chairs in Illinois Jails
The Illinois Answers Project’s “Strapped Down” series investigated the overuse, misuse and abuse of restraint chairs in county jails across Illinois.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
How three states are addressing the use and abuse of restraint chairs
The “Strapped Down” series investigated the use of restraint chairs in county jails. For the final stories in the series, we’re examining how three other states have addressed the use and misuse of restraint chairs.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
A Mentally Ill Man Died After Being Restrained. His Family’s Advocacy Led to Statewide Changes in California.
The knock came around midnight.
The officers told Carty Holland that his son, Andrew, had died at the county jail.
“They didn’t tell me how he passed,” Holland said. “The ugliness of it came later on.”
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
Iowa Jails Abused Restraint Chairs. A Watchdog Agency Intervened, Spurring Reform.
Two Iowa jails have made reforms after an ombudsman report found the facilities were restraining people with mental illnesses in chairs for long periods of time.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
This Pennsylvania County Banned Restraint Chairs at its Jail. Public Data Was Key.
Jason Porter takes comfort in knowing restraint chairs have been banned from Allegheny County Jail.
He was strapped down in the controversial device for six hours without food or water in 2020. His testimony bolstered by public data helped bring about a ban on restraint chairs at Allegheny County Jail.
Posted inFollow-Up
Gun Stolen From a Room Full of Chicago Cops Ended Up Being Used in a Series of Shootings
That’s what records obtained by the Illinois Answers Project and the Sun-Times found. The Glock handgun should have been destroyed after it was turned in to police at a buyback at St. Sabina Church in late 2023.
