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Sam Charles

@samjcharles

Chicago Tribune reporter covering the Chicago Police Department / criminal justice scharles@chicagotribune.com Signal: samjcharles.38 https://www.chicagotribune.com/sam-charles-staff.html

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11.07.2023
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Latest posts by Sam Charles @samjcharles

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CPD officer, shot after leaving FOP, alleges racial discrimination in SWAT A Chicago Police officer previously shot in the line of duty — who publicly rebuked his former union — has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city, alleging that he was kept from join…

A Chicago Police officer previously shot in the line of duty — who publicly rebuked his former union — has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city, alleging that he was kept from joining the police department’s SWAT unit because he is Black. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/05/c...

05.03.2026 19:17 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Charged, acquitted and sued, former CPD Officer Pierre Tyler now seeks expungement in murder case Former Chicago police Officer Pierre Tyler was one of about a dozen petitions for expungement heard last week by a Cook County judge. But Tyler’s case was the only one involving a former cop and a …

Charged, acquitted and sued, former CPD Officer Pierre Tyler now seeks expungement in murder case chicagotribune.com/2026/02/26/c...

26.02.2026 14:18 👍 1 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
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Officers in Dexter Reed shooting largely cleared of wrongdoing, records show The Chicago police officers involved in the March 2024 shooting of Dexter Reed were largely cleared of wrongdoing by investigators with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, city records sh…

NEW: The Chicago police officers involved in the March 2024 shooting of Dexter Reed were largely cleared of wrongdoing by investigators with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, city records show. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/11/o...

11.02.2026 19:17 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Federal judge dismisses whistleblower lawsuit from former COPA investigator A federal judge has dismissed a whistleblower lawsuit brought by a veteran police misconduct investigator against the city and the former chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accoun…

A federal judge has dismissed a whistleblower lawsuit brought by a veteran police misconduct investigator against the city and the former chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability who resigned last year. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/04/j...

04.02.2026 19:37 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 1

Records reviewed by the Tribune show the April 2, 2019, murder of Jiaerra Harris was the first of at least 5 intertwined shootings that involved gang conflict, a deadly attempted carjacking downtown, a mass shooting at a subsequent memorial and the murders of two witnesses.

30.01.2026 15:15 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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One detective’s work demonstrates how CPD improved the homicide clearance rate Records obtained by the Tribune detail how one of CPD’s most effective homicide investigators recently closed a 5-year-old cold case, helping to raise the Police Department’s murder clearance rate …

The Chicago Police Department's homicide clearance rate reached 71% last year, its highest mark in more than a decade.

This story is about how one of CPD's most effective investigators cleared a 2019 cold case tied to at least 4 other shootings. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/30/o...

30.01.2026 15:15 👍 1 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 2

Records reviewed by the Tribune show the April 2, 2019, murder of Jiaerra Harris was the first of at least 5 intertwined shootings that involved gang conflict, a deadly attempted carjacking downtown, a mass shooting at a subsequent memorial and the murders of two witnesses.

30.01.2026 15:15 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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One detective’s work demonstrates how CPD improved the homicide clearance rate Records obtained by the Tribune detail how one of CPD’s most effective homicide investigators recently closed a 5-year-old cold case, helping to raise the Police Department’s murder clearance rate …

The Chicago Police Department's homicide clearance rate reached 71% last year, its highest mark in more than a decade.

This story is about how one of CPD's most effective investigators cleared a 2019 cold case tied to at least 4 other shootings. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/30/o...

30.01.2026 15:15 👍 1 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 2
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Jury acquits Chicago man accused of soliciting murder of Border Patrol Cmdr. Bovino Chicago construction worker Juan Espinoza Martinez was found not guilty of putting a bounty on the head of Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino.

BREAKING: Jury acquits Chicago man accused of soliciting murder of Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino

22.01.2026 22:15 👍 87 🔁 27 💬 5 📌 8

Seven people were shot and killed across the city in less than 18 hours on Sunday. City violence data shows it was just the fourth January day to see at least seven murders since 1991.

20.01.2026 20:53 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Despite cold, Chicago matches rare January mark with seven homicides in a single day Seven people were shot and killed across the city in less than 18 hours Sunday, marking just the fourth January day to see that figure since 1991.

Despite cold, Chicago matches rare January mark with seven homicides in a single day www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/20/c...

20.01.2026 20:51 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 1
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Sorry, the explainer is dead www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/sorr...

19.01.2026 18:23 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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New OIG data portal details misconduct patterns among CPD officers, crews Office of Inspector General now offers an interactive data portal that allows anyone to see which Chicago Police Department officers are connected to misconduct claims.

This week, the city’s Office of Inspector General published an interactive data portal that allows anyone to see which CPD officers are most often accused of misconduct and identifies which other officers faced accusations related to the same incident. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/15/c...

15.01.2026 21:22 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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More civilian investigators coming to CPD Internal Affairs to tackle backlog Chicago Police officials this week said more civilian investigators will join the department’s Bureau of Internal Affairs as the office works to finish investigations more quickly and decrease its …

Chicago Police officials this week said more civilian investigators will join the department’s Bureau of Internal Affairs as the office works to finish investigations more quickly and decrease its backlog of pending cases. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/c...

14.01.2026 19:57 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Chicago and Cook County again see fewer opioid deaths in 2025 Chicago and Cook County saw another steep decline in fatal opioid overdoses last year, records show, four years after a recent peak in such cases during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chicago and Cook County saw another steep decline in fatal opioid overdoses last year, records show, four years after a recent peak in such cases during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/07/o...

07.01.2026 20:28 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Prosecutors link South Side gang faction to 14 slayings in 2 years Federal and state prosecutors now say a single gang faction on Chicago’s South Side committed 14 murders and shot at least 18 other people in just two years as part of a brazen crime spree meant to…

Federal and state prosecutors now say a single gang faction on Chicago’s South Side committed 14 murders and shot at least 18 other people in just two years as part of a brazen crime spree meant to tighten the group’s grip on the West Chatham neighborhood. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/03/p...

03.01.2026 17:53 👍 107 🔁 35 💬 13 📌 1
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29.12.2025 14:45 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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Chicago violence continued to plummet in 2025 despite high-profile crimes Despite some headline-grabbing mayhem, Chicago’s gun violence fell to levels not seen in a decade in 2025, with a homicide total roughly half what it was just four years ago.

Chicago violence continued to plummet in 2025 despite high-profile crimes www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/29/2...

29.12.2025 14:45 👍 69 🔁 29 💬 4 📌 3

“Privately made firearms” are now the sixth most common make of gun recovered by CPD, topped only by familiar brands such as Glock, Taurus, Smith & Wesson, Sturm & Ruger and Springfield.

22.12.2025 14:59 👍 2 🔁 7 💬 0 📌 0
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CPD recovering a steady number of ‘ghost guns’ despite legislation meant to curb them Through mid-November, records show, CPD officers in 2025 have recovered nearly 400 “ghost guns” — effectively untraceable weapons.

Chicago Police, once again, recovered about 1,000 guns each month in 2025.

Among them: hundreds of untraceable 'privately made firearms' — ghost guns www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/22/c...

22.12.2025 14:54 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 1
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Four Corner Hustlers boss Labar Spann convicted — again — of racketeering and murder Reputed Four Corner Hustlers boss Labar “Bro Man” Spann is once again facing life in prison after being convicted in a retrial of racketeering conspiracy involving four gangland murders…

Four Corner Hustlers boss Labar Spann convicted — again — of racketeering and murder www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/15/g...

16.12.2025 00:08 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

You know you don't have to post or repost the cruel thing said about the guy everyone loved

15.12.2025 15:24 👍 7 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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Number of unresolved CPD discipline cases crawls toward 500 during court fight As of mid-December, CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling still must decide whether or not to bring administrative charges in 490 cases in which the Civilian Office of Police Accountability sustained a…

Number of unresolved CPD discipline cases crawls toward 500 during court fight www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/15/n...

15.12.2025 14:11 👍 6 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0
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Chicago police release redacted video of ICE Brighton Park shooting The Chicago Police Department on Friday released 13 heavily redacted body camera videos depicting the initial response to a crash and shooting in Brighton Park involving federal immigration agents …

The Chicago Police Department on Friday released 13 heavily redacted body camera videos depicting the initial response to a crash and shooting in Brighton Park involving federal immigration agents that ended in tear gas.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/14/c...

14.11.2025 23:30 👍 4 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
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2 Chicago cops who started drunken Wrigleyville brawl kept jobs after one-year suspensions The Civilian Office of Police Accountability disclosed both officers were recommended to be separated from CPD the city later agreed to let the men each serve a one-year suspension.

Two Chicago police officers who started a drunken daytime brawl at a Wrigleyville pizza restaurant in 2019 reached settlement agreements with the city that allowed them to keep their jobs after each served a one-year suspension. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/12/2...

12.11.2025 21:18 👍 6 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 2
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2 Chicago cops who started drunken Wrigleyville brawl kept jobs after one-year suspensions The Civilian Office of Police Accountability disclosed both officers were recommended to be separated from CPD the city later agreed to let the men each serve a one-year suspension.

Two Chicago police officers who started a drunken daytime brawl at a Wrigleyville pizza restaurant in 2019 reached settlement agreements with the city that allowed them to keep their jobs after each served a one-year suspension. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/12/2...

12.11.2025 21:18 👍 6 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 2
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CPD sergeant sues city over discipline delays in internal affairs cases A Chicago Police sergeant who was sexually harassed by her former supervisor has filed a federal lawsuit against the city — seeking class status to represent scores of CPD officers — alleging CPD’s…

A CPD sergeant has filed a federal lawsuit against the city — seeking class status to represent scores of CPD officers — alleging CPD’s internal affairs improperly pauses investigations when the same allegations are raised in litigation www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/07/c...

07.11.2025 13:57 👍 2 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0
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‘The use of force shocks the conscience’: Judge issues sweeping injunction on Chicago tactics of immigration agents The incoming preliminary injunction replaces a temporary restraining order issued by U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis in early October that was set to expire at 11:30 a.m.

‘The use of force shocks the conscience’: Judge issues sweeping injunction on Chicago tactics of immigration agents www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/06/o...

06.11.2025 19:12 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 2 📌 0
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Border Patrol tear gas use involving cops down after talking with CPD, Snelling says Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling on Wednesday said the use of tear gas by federal immigration agents has lessened after he spoke with leaders from Customs and Border Protection.

Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling on Wednesday said the use of tear gas by federal immigration agents has lessened after he spoke with leaders from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/05/t...

06.11.2025 15:47 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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Operation Midway Blitz linked to dip in 911 calls, especially in Little Village The rate of 911 calls made in Chicago has dropped precipitously in the two months since the start of Operation Midway Blitz, a Tribune review of city data found, and nowhere is the decrease more pr…

911 calls in Chicago are down sharply over the last two months since the start of "Operation Midway Blitz"

The decline is largest in Little Village www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/03/9...

03.11.2025 15:32 👍 11 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0