CHICAGO (WLS) — When Limorris Bell was pulled over by Chicago police in the Gold Coast on Sept. 1, 2024, it took 93 seconds to be put in handcuffs and his car searched. The reason for the stop: allegedly not wearing his seatbelt or using his turn signal.

When Desmen Northington was stopped by Chicago police off of the Mag Mile on Sept. 23, 2024, it took 60 seconds before he was in handcuffs, and on the curb while officers searched his vehicle. The reason for the stop: not having his hazard lights on in a loading zone.

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Both drivers were eventually released with no charge or citation, but they are just two of dozens of drivers who filed formal complaints with the city over traffic stops for minor violations turned into full searches by officers on a specific Chicago police tactical unit in the 18th District: the 1863 tactical team.

The ABC7 I-Team first reported in May about this team of officers, including some who have been named in lawsuits against the city, and internal oversight complaints that led to discipline.

Now, after filing more Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the city, the I-Team has learned the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), the independent city agency that investigates allegations of police misconduct, warned Chicago police leadership of “problematic patterns” involving the tactical unit’s traffic stops turned searches late last year.

‘Concerns Related to 18th District Tactical Team Activities’

In a letter dated Dec. 27, 2024 that was obtained by the I-Team, COPA’s Director of Investigations Steffany Hreno informed CPD’s 18th District Commander that, “Over the past year, COPA has received over 50 complaints related to traffic stops, street stops, searches and unprofessional conduct by members of the 1863 tactical team.”

More than “90% of the complaints involved Black drivers, despite Black residents comprising only 6% of the district’s population,” the COPA letter states.

The 18th Police District covers most of near north of the city, including the Lincoln Park, Old Town, Gold Coast, Mag Mile, River North, River East, and Streeterville neighborhoods.

While some of the stops may have been justified, COPA said, “the racial disparity… may be indicative of implicit bias and/or racial profiling.”

Civil rights attorney Jordan Marsh has represented several drivers who have sued the city over stops turned searches by the 1863 tactical team, and calls the COPA letter a “bombshell.”

“They know that what they’re doing is unlawful. They’ve been disciplined for it before, and they’re continuing to be disciplined for it,” Marsh told the I-Team. “It’s not police work. It doesn’t help keep anyone safe; it makes people fear and disrespect the police.”

COPA’s letter also described a pattern of “unprofessional and disrespectful conduct” by members of the 1863 tactical team, including the “use of profanities, insults and threats of force.”

“In several cases, this behavior occurred in front of the officers’ sergeant,” the letter reads.

Some of 1863’s members have histories of civilian complaints that led to discipline “ranging from a reprimand to a 30-day suspension,” Hreno noted.

The I-Team found no record of a formal response by Chicago police to COPA’s specific concerns about the 1863 tactical team last December.

But in a letter addressed to COPA leadership nearly three months later, also obtained by the I-Team through a FOIA request, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling referenced the 18th District letter and requested that per city rules, all further communication go through him, rather than directly with district leadership.

“While I understand that some recommendations are specific to a district, it is important that I am aware that COPA is making these recommendations,” Snelling wrote. “This is to ensure that the recommended actions are within CPD policy and to determine whether such recommendations should be incorporated in other districts to ensure consistency across the Department.”

A Chicago police spokesperson confirmed to the I-Team this week that all members of the 1863 tactical team are still on the police force.

Stops leading to lawsuits

Many of the 1863 tactical unit’s traffic stops have resulted in lawsuits filed against the city, including by drivers Bell and Northington.

Limorris Bell filed a lawsuit last week against the city and the officers who stopped him. The city wouldn’t comment on pending litigation, or his stop specifically.

Desmen Northington also sued the city and the officers who stopped him. In court filings, the city denied wrongdoing but recently agreed to settle his lawsuit for $80,000.

The ACLU also has sued the city of Chicago over its “traffic stop strategy” and last week asked a judge to expand its litigation to include all Black and Latino drivers pulled over and searched since June 2021, amounting to hundreds of thousands of drivers.

In its court filing, attorneys for the ACLU have asserted pressure was placed on officers to meet “activity targets” or quotas for the number of traffic stops conducted each day.

In a previous report, Superintendent Snelling told the I-Team the “initiative” of using traffic stops as a form of policing was “not the city’s policy. It hasn’t been. It may have been an initiative by someone who thinks or who felt that was a style of police work. For me, I see things differently. I’m more focused on violent crimes.”

Chicago police declined the I-Team’s interview requests for this story.

In a written statement, a CPD spokesperson said, in part, “Traffic stops are only conducted when there is reasonable articulable suspicion that a person is committing, is about to commit or has committed a criminal offense.”

The department also told the I-Team that Superintendent Snelling is “committed to implementing a new traffic stop policy… rooted in constitutional policing” that may include new restrictions on when officers can search vehicles.

“This policy, which is being developed in collaboration with the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, aims to build trust in our communities by providing clear guidelines on traffic stops,” a police spokesperson said.

No timeline has been given on when that new policy could go into effect.

Superintendent Snelling has also pushed for traffic stops to be included in a court-monitored consent decree over police practices.

Civil rights attorney Joel Flaxman, who represents driver Limorris Bell, said he believes overhauling the department’s use of traffic stops is long overdue.

“It’s very concerning that after so many years of talk about reform and oversight, we have Chicago police officers who are still doing things in the old ways,” Flaxman told the I-Team.