CPD officer James Hunt, who said on viral video that he was killed ‘mother’, stripped of police privileges after new complaint was present
By Brad Edwards, Carol Thompson, Samah Assad, Chris Hacker
CHICAGO (CBS) – A Chicago cop who nearly four years ago bragged on camera about killing someone while taunting an innocent Black man in a park, has now had his police powers removed.
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CBS 2 investigators learned that the move wasn’t because viral video problem in 2018but because a complaint just surfaced.
Officer James Hunt was seen and heard in a viral video boasting on camera, “I kill my mother******” in a slur. It happened on July 3, 2018. CBS 2 was the first to reveal Hunt’s entire interaction with Kenneth Lee that day. Lee was an innocent passerby before the police call that Hunt responded to.
“That’s when he said, ‘I have Snapchat too,'” Lee said. “I said, ‘No, you don’t.’ He said, ‘Yes, I know, it’s called me f***** your mother.’
That day, according to a summary report from the Office of the Police for Civil Liability (COPA), after taunting Lee in the park, Hunt also falsely arrested him. Lee eventually won a $100,000 settlement from the city.
Hunt’s trouble track record includes 24 civilian complaints from July 2014 to March 2020, according to COPA records. He also self-reported having used force against civilians 28 times between 2016 and 2020. During that period, he has a fifth multiple reports, along with three other officers, according to CPD data. analyzed by CBS 2. The CPD has more than 12,000 officers. force.
CBS 2 investigators just discovered a new complaint filed against Hunt – who led to his new handover assignment.
It was filed in 2020 – the same week that a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd and protests were held across the country, and in Chicago.
In the complaint, the woman said she got caught up in a “crowd” while “driving downtown”. May 30, 2020. “There’s been a lot of uproar,” she said, and she’s trying to “get out of the area.” That’s when she saw “the policemen approaching her car.” She said one of them “broken the passenger’s rear window” and had “shards of glass flying all over her car.” As she got out of the car, she said it was the employee who “started fighting over the phone with her.” She’s recording the whole thing.
She said she needed “three times medical attention” and “was ignored” before being “completely paralyzed.” She ended up on the ground. She accused one of the officers of lifting her by the head. She said she was called by one of the officers names like “Fat” and “B****”.
Sources confirmed to CBS 2 that Hunt was the officer she alleges broke the window, lifted her by the head and called her name.
COPA completed its investigation of the May 30, 2020 incident and submitted it to CPD for review. That was in December.
But just this week, CBS 2 Investigators learned Hunt had been given a new assignment. He will be reported to be training to be a Field Training Officer on February 8th. The day before his training begins, Hunt is suddenly stripped of his police clearance and reassigned. worked in the Evidence and Property Recovery Department.
The CPD Field Training Officers App says the Field Training Officer’s job is to “instruct trainee police officers in the following law enforcement areas:” including “ethics,” “community participation”, “arrest process”, “use of force” and “Verbal communication” among others.
Hunt must apply for a career change by November 2021, pass a test held in December, and then be selected for training.
The application directive indicates that applicants will not be eligible to become a Field Training Officer if:
- They have maintained investigations of a complaint of misconduct that resulted in a suspension for more than 7 days in the previous 12 months, or
- They have had three or more ongoing complaints investigations that resulted in any suspensions in the past five years.
Hunt does not meet the eligibility criteria because he has not served any recent suspension orders. COPA recommended a 365-day suspension for the Kenneth Lee park incident, but that returned in 2019. Hunt filed a complaint and is still fighting the proposed disciplinary action through critical talent. He has yet to serve any suspensions. A ruling from the arbitration hearing is expected soon.
John Catanzara, president of the Chicago police union, told CBS 2 it was “disgraceful” that the CPD stripped him of his police privileges the day before training began. Catanzara said the only reason the CPD took the move was to prevent Hunt’s promotion and called the police administration “revenge”.
Last year, CPD Supt. David Brown removes Hunt from the new city Community safety group after the CBS 2 Investigator brought Hunt’s history of bad behavior to his attention. The Community safety group was established in July 2020 to combat the surge in violent crime that began during the pandemic and to build trust with the community.
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As for the COPA disciplinary recommendations for the new 2020 misconduct complaint? The CPD order has had its final report in two months. The status is still pending review.
