(The Center Square ) – After allegations that Chicago police officers engaged in sexual misconduct with undocumented migrants, including impregnating a minor, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability failed to find any migrants who claim to have been assaulted.
The issue came to light in June after the Chicago Sun-Times reported allegations that an unspecified number of officers had engaged in sexual misconduct with the undocumented migrants.
On Tuesday, COPA provided an update on the investigation. COPA Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten said while no migrant has come forward, the investigation is far from over.
“I’m not going to be rushed in the investigation of this process,” Kersten said. “I want to ensure we’ve done every bit of due diligence to provide as much outreach, as much information and as much education to that very vulnerable community to make sure that we’ve done all we can to ensure people have a feeling of individual safety.”
The Chicago Police Department union denied any wrongdoing by its officers. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 President John Catanzara discussed the allegations earlier this month on the lodges’ YouTube page and said the claims have no truth to them.
“There is no validity to the complaint. There is no basis or origin of where it originated from. We don’t have a victim’s name or victims at this point,” Catanzara said. “Who knows if it is even true.”
Catanzara said the allegations could possibly be a result of the SAFE-T Act, the controversial criminal justice reform measure that among other things allows anonymous complaints against police.
There could be an anti-police group that planted the allegations, Catanzara speculated.
“Who knows where this complaint even originated from,” he said. “But to think there is not police-hating groups that would go to any length to start this type of nonsense because they know the media will pick it up because it is such a sensationalized story, your head is in the sand.”
The COPA investigation continues.
