HARVEY, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The police chief in Harvey is out as the city attempts to get a grip on corruption.
Mayor Christopher Clark said he asked for Chief John Mosely's resignation.
"This week, I have completed a sweeping change to our Police Department. The priority of this city must be to have trained, elite police officers on the streets, patrolling them, to ensure that criminals cannot run and disrupt this community," Mayor Clark said.
This comes after Olivia Cobbins, a former Chicago Police Department officer, was hired to crack down on corruption and she told CBS 2 she quit in disgust.
"I couldn't stand – in the position that I was in, as a woman, and as a police officer – and see the level of corruption and misconduct in Harvey," Cobbins said. "I couldn't stay."
Cobbins said on more than one occasion, her efforts to investigate misconduct were blocked by higher ups in the department.
She said an officer came to her with allegations that Harvey's deputy chief punched a handcuffed student in the chest.
Cobbins said when she tried to investigate, police management blocked her from accessing evidence – including body camera video and Cobbins also told CBS 2 a higher level official laughed at her attempts to look into death threats against a Harvey officer.
The mayor responded by accusing Cobbins of never coming to him to ask for help or to identify where the corruption in the police department was coming from, according to CBS 2.
Other civilian employees are also out. The mayor said, there is a culture of corruption that has to be stopped.
