CHICAGO – Officers in a Chicago police district who arrest people for illegal gun possession can now directly file a number of firearms-related crimes without getting permission from the Cook County Prosecutor’s Office.
Multiple sources say the “Felony Review Bypass Program” began at midnight on January 1 in the Englewood (7th) District. Neither the CPD nor the State Attorney’s Office directly answered questions about the program, although both issued statements not denying its existence.
For years, officers in Cook County have required a prosecutor from the state’s Felony Review Unit to approve all charges, a sometimes time-consuming hurdle that keeps officers off the streets. Now, at least for a while, officers in Englewood County can file some weapons charges with the permission of their lieutenant.
Felony review attorneys approved 89% of gun cases presented to the office last year. according to the Public Prosecution Service. Both city and suburban police departments had the same rejection rate of 11%.
Retired Riverside Police Chief Weitzel called the bypass effort “a great idea, and I believe it will work effectively.” He suggested that new Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke expand the program nationwide.
“These cases are generally simple,” Weitzel said. “Beat officers can quickly determine whether an individual can legally possess a firearm; it’s not rocket science. Also, if the gun is stolen, it is usually easy to identify unless the serial number has been obliterated. In that case, a separate fine would be charged for possession of a firearm without a serial number.”
A CPD spokesperson responded to questions about the bypass program with a written statement: “This initiative continues to be evaluated in collaboration between the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and the CPD. The reduction of gun violence is paramount in this collaboration.”
O’Neill Burke spokesperson responded: “We can confirm that we are working closely with our law enforcement partners at the Chicago Police Department to implement policies in our felony review process that support public safety and justice. As we continue preliminary discussions with CPD, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
Sources familiar with the bypass program say 7th District police can directly report all kinds of illegal gun possession. But, the sources said, Felony Review Unit prosecutors remain available for consultation if necessary.
CWBChicago discovered four gun-related cases that Englewood officers filed directly on the first day of the program. Among them:
- Ulysses Long, 49, was reportedly found around 1:25 a.m. on Jan. 1 with three firearms in his waistband and pockets near a garage that was “littered with shell casings of multiple different calibers,” according to a CPD report. Judge Susana Ortiz sent Long home under a curfew and rejected a prosecutor’s request to keep him in custody.
- Toval Frazier, 27, was charged by felon with unlawful possession of a machine gun after officers allegedly found him asleep in his car with a stolen pistol equipped with an extended magazine in the passenger seat. Prosecutors said the weapon also had a switch that could convert it into a machine gun that generates automatic gunfire. Judge Ortiz granted the state’s detention request for Frazier.
Weitzel, the retired Riverside chief, said the bypass program would “send a strong message to police officers throughout Cook County. It signals that this is a new era for officers – ‘You can do your job’ – and oversee the police at the same time.”
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