CITY HALL — The City Council Tuesday agreed to pay $2 million to two officers who said they were targeted for investigating corruption in the Chicago Police Department.
City lawyers agreed to settle the suit brought by Police Officers Shannon Spalding and Daniel Echeverria on the day the trial was set to begin.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel had been expected to testify as part of that trial about his admission that a code of silence in the Police Department has prevented officers from being held accountable for misconduct.
At the time the settlement was announced, Emanuel said the move would save the city money in the long run.
Spalding and Echeverria worked with the FBI to put two officers in jail who allowed drug dealing to take place in and around public housing in return for bribes — and framed others who declined to pay them off, according to court documents.
Instead of being praised for their work, Spalding and Echeverria sued the city, alleging that they were warned other officers would not respond to their calls for help and given less-desirable assignments after their role in the investigation came to light.
City attorneys told aldermen that testimony at the trial would have shown that work by officers was subpar, and the reason for their assignments.
Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st) voted against the settlement and Ald. Sophia King (4th) abstained from the vote.
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