The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff, Wire Reports

Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 07:30 PM

Chicago PD Sued Over Rewriting Rules For Officers' Use of Stun Guns Without Input From City's Police Union

The Chicago Police Department is getting sued for rewriting rules on officers' use of stun guns – without input from the city’s police union.

Police are now deterred from using stun guns on people who are running away, intoxicated, or vulnerable to injury.

The tightened policy follows an August investigation by the Chicago Tribune on the department's reliance on the devices, the newspaper reported Monday.

Following controversies from officers’ alleged misuse of force, Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson overhauled the department’s policies and introduced the rules in May and enacted them in October, the report said.

Critics assailed the policy as being too permissive, while the union representing rank-and-file cops argued the department did not have the right to change the rules without its input, the report said.

Consequently, the new policies face a pending challenge from the union. It filed a complaint with the Illinois Labor Relations Board, arguing that the department violated the union’s collective bargaining rights by implementing new rules without negotiating, the Tribune reported.

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