How to bring professional excellence to the Chicago Police Department

Two landmark studies on the Chicago Police Department just dropped. Here’s what they revealed.

To read The Last Word article “How to bring professional excellence to the Chicago Police Department” copy and paste the link below:
— Read on www.thelastward.org/p/how-to-bring-professional-excellence

To get the Chicago PD “Workforce Allocation Study” and “Community Policing Study”click HERE

For the specific .PDF versions:

Workforce Allocation Study

 

Community Policing Assessment Executive Summary

 

Operationalizing Community Policing at the Chicago Police Department Detailed Assessment and Recommendations

After George Floyd they promised social workers would replace cops — one just got attacked with a sword in Boston – Mass Daily News

Police respond to Hemenway Street near Northeastern University after a man attacked a mental health clinician and officer with a sword. Inset: A George Floyd mural in Berlin by street artist Eme. (Scene photo via Citizen app; mural via Wikimedia Commons)
— Read on www.massdailynews.com/2026/04/05/george-floyd-social-worker-promise-boston-clinician-stabbed-sword-hemenway

Report says Cincinnati police chief Theetge has ‘not been an effective leader’

This is a VERY rare occurrence where a COP is found to be an ineffective leader.

The monthslong review into Cincinnati police chief Terri Theetge has been released, ultimately finding her “not to be an effective leader.”
— Read on www.wlwt.com/article/cincinnati-report-police-chief-terri-theetge-review/70899385

A .PDF version of this memo is available HERE

JACOB P. ZORN v. SHELA M. LINTON

No. 25–297. Decided March 23, 2026

PER CURIAM.

On the Governor’s inauguration day in Vermont, protesters staged a sit-in at the state capitol. When the capitol closed for the day, police officers told them that they would be arrested for trespassing. They refused to leave. As officers removed the protesters one by one, Sergeant Jacob

Zorn asked Shela Linton to stand up and warned her that he would eventually have to use force to remove her. She refused to stand. Zorn took Linton’s arm, put it behind her back, placed pressure on her wrist, and lifted her to her feet.

Linton sued Zorn for using excessive force, claiming that the arrest left her with arm injuries and psychological disorders. The Second Circuit held that Zorn was not entitled to qualified immunity. We reverse.

Buffalo to pay $700k in lawsuit involving police union president : Investigative Post

The City of Buffalo’s law department this week asked the Common Council to approve $1.68 million in settlements to lawsuits against the city — most stemming from encounters between police and civilians.

The largest of the settlements — $700,000 — stems from an incident nearly seven years ago involving the current president of the city’s police union and his partner. 

On Memorial Day 2019, Bruce McNeil was stopped while driving down Broadway by Officer John Davidson — now the president of the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association — and his partner, Officer Patrick Garry. The officers wouldn’t tell him the reason for the stop, according to McNeil’s court papers, but pulled him out of the car, handcuffed him, put him in the back of their patrol car and searched his vehicle. They found no contraband and let him go.
— Read on investigativepost.org/2026/03/20/city-to-pay-700k-in-police-misconduct-lawsuit/

Reassessing police de-escalation training: Evidence, gaps, and policy priorities – Niskanen Center

Overview

In recent years, de-escalation training has become a key approach in law enforcement,  providing officers with tactics, skills, and tools to better manage interactions with the public. This focus reflects growing community and law enforcement interest in resolving conflicts and handling challenging, often emotionally charged interactions with members of the public more effectively than in the past, particularly when encountering individuals in crisis. Proponents of de-escalation training argue that it equips officers with enhanced skills to resolve conflicts in highly confrontational situations without the use of force or less severe force (Oliva et al., 2010). Others, however, have raised concerns about the use of de-escalation tactics, suggesting that the training increases officers’ risk of injury by encouraging slower and less effective responses to potentially volatile situations than the operational responses of traditional policing (Blake, 2017; Jackman, 2016a; Zaiser et al., 2023).
— Read on www.niskanencenter.org/reassessing-police-de-escalation-training-evidence-gaps-and-policy-priorities/