Chicago Police Department (CPD) officials are experts at using the promotion of officers to the maximum benefit of the agency. Of course when the script if flipped and they have to announce a demotion of a high ranking commander their lips are sealed even though their is a vital public interest in knowing why the official was demoted.

The current practice within the CPD to not comment on demotions only provides fuel to drive the rumor mill about why the demotion occurred. In this most recent case the CPD's 1st District Commander Jacob Alderden was demoted by Supt. David Brown. The CPD has said nothing about why he was demoted given that he was promoted just 18 months ago and was the recipient of the CPD's highest honor in 2018 for his actions in a hospital shooting. The CPD's silence has allowed rumors to go public including one that has the demotion tied to Supt. Brown demanding a squad car be placed in front of his favorite restaurant to guard it during an weekend of unrest in Chicago. Another rumor involves the Mayor but since it has not been published I will not repeat repeat it here.

Demotions of high ranking officers are of vital public interest especially for those that are concerned with police accountability in Chicago. It is pretty clear that officers within the agency do not trust management at any level. They believe there is always some massive conspiracy behind ever promotion and demotion. The way to counter this is being transparent about each demotion so that the public and the officers can understand the underlying facts surrounding any demotion of high ranking officials and trust the decision making process within the agency. Without it every demotion, whether justified or not, just fuels the distrust between the agency and its officers as well as the public.

Also on today's show:

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Photos used on today's show