Ex-Daley Security Officers Sue over Transfers

Eleven Chicago police officers who were removed from Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s security detail when he took office have filed a federal lawsuit alleging they were replaced by officers who had volunteered on the mayor’s campaign.

The officers, who are white or Hispanic, also alleged discrimination, saying African-American officers on the detail with less seniority were not demoted at the time.

The lawsuit contended that police Cmdr. Brian Thompson, in charge of the security detail, and the city violated Chicago’s decades-old Shakman decree, which prohibits political considerations in most city hiring decisions.

{snip}

The lawsuit, filed Monday, said the transfers from the mayor’s security detail lowered the officers’ ranks and significantly reduced their pay and benefits. They are seeking unspecified monetary damages as well as a return to their previous jobs.

{snip} A spokesman for the department denied that Emanuel or his staff played any part in the hiring of his security detail and said the decisions were made by Terry Hillard while he was interim police superintendent.

Hillard issued a statement Wednesday defending his actions, saying he consulted security experts and the U.S. Secret Service in putting the team together.

“It was, as it should be, a careful and deliberative process, and at no time were political or any other inappropriate factors considered, period,” Hillard said.

{snip}