CPD Ethics & Accountability 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A CPD officer discovers that a colleague is running a private business that competes with establishments the officer regularly patrols and inspects. This situation most likely constitutes:
- A protected private business activity unrelated to police duties
- A conflict of interest requiring disclosure and potentially reassignment (Correct answer)
- A minor concern only if the officer has issued citations to competitors
- An acceptable arrangement if the business operates in a different district
Correct answer: A conflict of interest requiring disclosure and potentially reassignment
Operating a business that could be influenced by or could influence the officer's patrol duties creates a conflict of interest requiring disclosure under CPD ethics rules.
Question 2: Under the Illinois Police Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission Act, which historical CPD practice is the Commission specifically designed to address?
- Racial profiling during traffic stops on the South Side
- Torture of criminal suspects by Commander Jon Burge and officers under his command (Correct answer)
- Excessive use of deadly force by SWAT units in the 1990s
- Corruption in the evidence lockup at police headquarters
Correct answer: Torture of criminal suspects by Commander Jon Burge and officers under his command
The Commission was established to review claims from individuals who allege they were tortured by Burge-era CPD detectives into making false confessions.
Question 3: An officer is assigned to a task force investigating organized crime and is offered a large sum of money to 'look the other way' on a particular associate. The officer's immediate obligation is to:
- Decline politely and end the conversation without further action
- Report the bribery attempt immediately to a supervisor and relevant investigators (Correct answer)
- Discuss the offer with their union delegate before reporting
- Document the offer privately in case it is needed as leverage later
Correct answer: Report the bribery attempt immediately to a supervisor and relevant investigators
A bribery attempt is a criminal act that must be immediately reported; failing to report it could itself constitute misconduct or criminal liability.
Question 4: CPD's prohibition on racial profiling is rooted primarily in which constitutional amendment?
- First Amendment (freedom of association)
- Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments (unreasonable search and equal protection) (Correct answer)
- Fifth Amendment (self-incrimination)
- Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment)
Correct answer: Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments (unreasonable search and equal protection)
The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable seizures, and the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause prohibits race-based differential treatment by government actors.
Question 5: When a CPD supervisor fails to take corrective action after witnessing officer misconduct, they may be found liable under which legal theory?
- Respondeat superior liability only
- Supervisory liability for deliberate indifference to known misconduct (Correct answer)
- Qualified immunity for supervisory decisions
- Absolute immunity for all on-duty supervisory actions
Correct answer: Supervisory liability for deliberate indifference to known misconduct
Supervisors who know of misconduct and fail to act can face individual civil liability under Section 1983 for deliberate indifference.
Question 6: According to CPD's code of ethics, when an officer is uncertain whether a particular action is ethical, the best test to apply is:
- Whether the action is technically legal under Illinois law
- Whether the officer would be comfortable if their supervisors, family, and the public could observe the action (Correct answer)
- Whether other officers in the district routinely take the same action
- Whether the action produces the best immediate outcome for the department
Correct answer: Whether the officer would be comfortable if their supervisors, family, and the public could observe the action
The 'newspaper test' or 'sunlight test' asks whether the officer would be comfortable with full transparency—a practical ethics check taught in CPD training.
Question 7: The Laquan McDonald case fundamentally changed CPD accountability practices primarily because it demonstrated that:
- CPD lacked sufficient firearms training protocols for patrol officers
- The concealment of a police shooting video exposed a systemic cover-up and lack of accountability (Correct answer)
- Off-duty officers were not subject to use-of-force reporting requirements
- Forensic evidence collection at shooting scenes was inadequate
Correct answer: The concealment of a police shooting video exposed a systemic cover-up and lack of accountability
The delayed release of the McDonald shooting video and subsequent cover-up revelations led to federal oversight, new transparency laws, and the Consent Decree.
CPD Ethics & Accountability 5
A CPD officer discovers that a colleague is running a private business that competes with establishments the officer regularly patrols and inspects.
This situation most likely constitutes: