A former supervisor with the Civilian Workplace of Police Accountability has filed a whistleblower lawsuit towards town, alleging that he was fired final month after elevating considerations of anti-police bias and unprofessionalism throughout the company.
Matthew Haynam filed the lawsuit towards town final week, alleging that COPA chief administrator Andrea Kersten fired him in late August “in retaliation for Plaintiff’s good religion disclosure of Kersten’s outrageous misconduct to each the Workplace of the Inspector Basic for the Metropolis of Chicago and Civilian Fee on Public Security and Accountability.”
Haynam’s go well with accuses Kersten of repeatedly tainting the general public’s notion of still-ongoing police misconduct investigations. What’s extra, Haynam alleges, COPA investigators have a observe of disregarding Chicago Police coaching supplies which can be important in figuring out if an officer engaged in misconduct.
“Every time there’s a high-profile tragic occasion involving a Chicago Police Officer, Kersten pushes the more and more widespread narrative that the accused officer(s) engaged in misconduct, no matter whether or not information revealed throughout the course of an investigation help Kersten’s chosen conclusion,” Haynam alleges.
Representatives for COPA and town’s Regulation Division every declined to touch upon the pending litigation.
Haynam factors to Kersten’s public statements in high-profile COPA instances — statements made earlier than the conclusion of any investigation — as proof of her alleged political aspirations affecting the integrity of the company.
One such case was initiated in 2023 after rumors surfaced amongst metropolis workers {that a} CPD officer assigned to the Ogden District (tenth) was having an inappropriate sexual relationship with an asylum seeker who was, on the time, housed on the police station.
“Assumptions by Kersten are not any proxy for precise proof, however tellingly reveal her willingness to interact in affirmation bias whereas investigating police misconduct allegations,” Haynam wrote. “Unwilling or unable to permit the dearth of proof get in the best way of her narrative, Kersten ignored the dearth of proof and made a demonstrably reckless assertion to most people.”
The primary listening to within the case is scheduled for November, courtroom information present.
