C PA

CIVILIAN OFFICE OF POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY

INTEGRITY • TRANSPARENCY • INDEPENDENCE • TIMELINESS

TO: O’Neil Brown, Superintendent of Police

David O'Neil

FROM: Sydney R. Roberts, Chief Administrator

DATE: June 9, 2020

RE: RELIEF OF POWERS: Log 2020-2121

Please allow this request for Relief of Powers to serve as a supplement to our initial request, sent
on June 5, 2020.

As you are aware, Log # 2020-2121 involves a member of the Department making a homophobic
comment(s) to a citizen. COPA initially obtained video capturing the officer
and biased-based comments}
making this verbally abusive statement but did not have the identification of the officer depicted
in the video. In the past days, COPA has taken additional investigative steps to identify several
civilians who were present during this incident, obtain additional video and photographic evidence,
and obtain a sworn affidavit. COPA has now confirmed that this occurred on or about May 30,
2020, near the location of 1 W. Grand Avenue at approximately 7:30pm. With this additional
information, COPA has identified the Department member who made the statements as Matthew
Drinnan, Star#13585/Employee# 7th District.
Officer Drinnan is currently assigned to the 7th

Drinnan’s actions, which were captured on video and have been widely circulated in the
Officer Drinnan's
media, have brought significant discredit to the Department. Furthermore, Officer Drinnan's
Drinnan’s use
of a homophobic slur casts serious doubt on his ability to serve our community without bias or
prejudice. Accordingly, COPA requests that CPD evaluate the current assignment of the officer
and either modify his duty status or relieve him temporarily of police power as COPA continues
this investigation. Should you have questions or require additional information, please contact
Deputy Chief Administrator, Andrea Kersten. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Sydney R. Roberts
Chief Administrator

cc: Anthony J. Riccio, First Deputy Superintendent

Karen Konow, Chief of Bureau of Internal Affairs

1615 WEST CHICAGO

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