A Cook County judge on Friday appeared to be leaning against appointing a special prosecutor in a six-year-old fatal shooting by Chicago police but held off on making a decision.
Emmett Farmer, whose son, Flint, died in 2011, contends that the state’s attorney’s office cannot adequately investigate allegations of officer misconduct due to its close working relationship with police.
“I empathize with Mr. Farmer,” said LeRoy K. Martin Jr., presiding judge of the criminal division. “However, it makes me uncomfortable … to say that any time there’s a police-involved shooting, the state’s attorney’s office (has) inherently a conflict of interest.”
Jeanette Samuels, who represents Farmer in his petition for a special prosecutor, noted that State’s Attorney Kim Foxx has said multiple times that prosecutors have an innate conflict of interest when investigating police.
“This was a position that the state’s attorney herself took,” Samuels told the judge. “She’s acknowledged that this exists.”
Assistant State’s Attorney Alan Spellberg conceded that Foxx made those statements on the campaign trail but said that since taking office she has reconsidered that position and instead has made internal changes to the way the office investigates police shootings.
Flint Farmer was unarmed when he was fatally shot by then-Officer Gildardo Sierra in June 2011 in an on-duty incident captured in part by a police dashboard camera. Former State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez declined to prosecute Sierra.
On Friday, Spellberg said Foxx’s office took another look at the evidence and still feels it comes up short of a criminal matter.
“(The state’s attorney) has carefully reviewed the facts of this case,” Spellberg said. “The evidence is not available to prove anyone guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Martin repeatedly pushed Samuels to be more specific about the alleged conflict of interest, noting that such a determination is more commonly made when the office has a close tie to someone involved in a case.
“That’s her brother-in-law, her cousin’s auntie’s niece’s son,” Martin said, citing hypothetical examples of relationships that could meet the standard. “Something I can put my finger on.”
Martin also pointed out that prosecutors must decline to bring charges when they determine evidence falls short.
With his lawyer by his side, the elder Farmer asked to speak — an unusual request, the judge noted, but one he allowed. Farmer quietly noted that the Independent Police Review Authority, which investigated police misconduct until recently, had found his son’s shooting unjustified.
“It seemed like (Foxx) would see that and consider it,” Farmer said.
But Spellberg pointed out that statements given by officers during police disciplinary investigations cannot be used against them in criminal proceedings
Martin said he would announce his decision Oct. 31.
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“I tend to be a cautious fellow. I carry an umbrella on a sunny day,” the judge said. “Give me a little while to think about it.”
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