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Chicago Aldermen Call On DOJ Officials To Investigate Law Department

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Some Chicago Aldermen are calling on the Federal Justice Department to investigate the city's Law Department for alleged abuses.

Members of the City Council's Progressive Caucus applaud the DOJ review of police practices, but north side Alderman John Arena notes the Law Department's been criticized by courts eight times in the last five years for withholding evidence in police misconduct cases.

"I guess what I see in terms of pattern and practice is we're only going to look closely at ourselves if we're caught doing it," Arena says.

Although city officials say they've made several changes in Law Department procedures, Arena remains unimpressed.

"That's not gonna be good enough," he says. "If we want the citizens of Chicago to take the COPA office as a credible, new approach to how we oversee our police."

It's not known if the incoming Trump administrations would be interested in such an investigation.

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