CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- An independent arbitrator has reaffirmed his ruling on police discipline, and is scolding the mayor and City Council members.
Independent arbitrator Edwin Benn said City Council members violated their state constitutional oaths by denying Chicago police officers who are accused of the most serious wrongdoing the right to bypass the Police Board.
Benn had already affirmed and reaffirmed that state law guarantees that when officers are recommended for firing, or for suspensions of more than a year, they have the right to take their cases to an arbitrator.
Now, his second reaffirmation sends the matter back to the City Council for a second vote. Benn also criticized Mayor Brandon Johnson and the council members who rejected the earlier ruling and even compared their arguments to Donald Trump's false election claims.
Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara told the Chicago Sun-Times he’s heading to court hoping the ruling will be enforced immediately.
Mayor Johnson's office released a statement saying he disagrees with the arbitrator, calling it a ruling "against public accountability and transparency in the most severe cases of police misconduct."
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