Darien Cops Get 8 Citizen Complaints In 2021

DARIEN, IL – Darien police received eight citizen complaints against police officers in 2021, the police said in a report released last week.

The police said all the complaints were thoroughly investigated, with six of them being unfounded, according to the department's annual report.

In another case, an officer was exonerated, with all the officer's actions found to be within policies. In the remaining one, the police said they were unable to substantiate whether the situation occurred.

Six of the complaints were about standards of conduct, one about the use of force and the other about discrimination, the report said.

This was out of 15,000 interactions involving police last year. This included more than 260 arrests and more than 8,400 tickets.

In 11 situations, a supervisor found it necessary to write a formal complaint against an officer, according to the report.

Those cases resulted in findings of nine sustained violations, leading to seven written warnings and two suspensions, the report said. One case was unsubstantiated, and another resulted in an exoneration.

"We want to make sure we are honorable and continually earn the public's respect and trust as we respect and trust the public," the report said. "Therefore, we do not shy away from investigating complaints against personnel."