A Chicago police oversight agency charged with investigating sexual misconduct allegations between police officers and migrants housed at the station, has been unable to substantiate the claims made by an unknown source.
On Tuesday, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) provided an update to reporters on its investigation into claims that a police officer assigned to the 10th District of Chicago participated in sexual misconduct with a migrant.
The chief administrator of COPA, Andrea Kersten, said the agency received information on July 6 about an allegation of sexual misconduct involving at least one police officer within the district.
CHICAGO POLICE STATIONS BECOME UNOFFICIAL MIGRANT SHELTERS AMID CRISIS
Chicago police officers in the West Englewood neighborhood of Chicago. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images, File)
The allegation identified a specific officer and accused that officer of having sexual conduct with an underaged female migrant. The tipster also indicated several other officers in the 10th District may have engaged in similar misconduct, Kersten added.
COPA staff assigned to the special victims unit reached out to the Chicago Police Department’s bureau of internal affairs to see if it had an investigation open on the matter or were aware of the allegations.
The agency learned that although the source of the initial allegation was unknown, information was circulating among various police department and Office of Emergency Management Communication employees. Later that evening, two tracking numbers were assigned to the investigations into Chicago Police Department misconduct — one for COPA’s investigation and the other for the Bureau of Internal Affairs’ potential investigation.
As a “sanctuary city”, Chicago shields undocumented migrants from federal immigration enforcement and welcomes people regardless of their immigration status. (FOX 32 Chicago)
Kersten said the agency allocated significant resources into determining whether any wrongdoing took place and to identify who reported the allegations.
“This investigation remains open and ongoing, but I can confirm that to date, we have not identified any migrants claiming to be the victim of sexual assault or any form of sexual misconduct by CPD members,” Kersten said.
She also said the investigation led to additional complaints involving migrants, including an allegation of unidentified officers in the 19th District engaging in sexual misconduct with an unknown migrant.
Migrants are led from one bus to another after arriving from Texas at Union Station on Sept. 9, 2022, in Chicago. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
FOX 32 in Chicago reported that according to reports, four officers allegedly engaged in sexual relations with migrants living at the Ogden District police station.
As a result of the investigations from both COPA and the Bureau of Internal Affairs, the city began moving migrants out of the station.
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Last week, the news station reported, nearly 5,000 immigrants were living at 12 city-run makeshift shelters while 650 continued living at police stations as they awaited a bed in a shelter.
