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Abstract

The release of video showing a Chicago Police Department (CPD) officer fatally shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald resulted in widespread outrage and scrutiny of the CPD. This study examines whether the video’s release influenced arrest and traffic stop rates in Chicago. It adds to the existing depolicing literature through its focus on the CPD’s specialized units contrasted with officers assigned to patrol. The results indicate that arrest rates decreased significantly after the video was released, but only for officers assigned to specialized units. The video release had no significant impact on traffic stop rates. Additional analyses demonstrate that the significant reductions in arrest rates for specialized units were somewhat more pronounced in police districts with less than a majority of Black residents.

Keywords

depolicing Ferguson effect specialized units arrests traffic stops race

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Depolicing in Chicago: Contrasting Patrol Officer and Specialized Unit Activity in the Aftermath of the Laquan McDonald Video Release

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