Chicago police officers have been disciplined for reading a police report involving Mayor Rahm Emanuel's son, police said.
The police report dates back to last December when Zack Emanuel was mugged near his Northside home and his cell phone was stolen.
Chicago Police News Affairs say 11 officers have been suspended, however Chicago police sources tell NBC 5 there are more who have been reprimanded.
The Chicago Police Sergeants Association said it is currently appealing the discipline action. Meanwhile, The Fraternal Order of Police said it has not been involved with any suspensions yet.
Chicago police said in a statement that access to law enforcement information is restricted to officers and department employees to “safeguard every criminal investigation and every victim's privacy.” That information includes police reports, motor vehicle information, criminal history records and intelligence bulletins for official reasons.
“During a routine internal audit several months ago, it was learned that 11 police officers inappropriately accessed police reports for a robbery incident of a juvenile victim that occurred in the Ravenswood community on December 19, 2014,” police said in a statement. “As a result of this routine internal affairs investigation, the 11 individuals identified as having violated Department policy received a one-day suspension and formal reprimand.”
"This kind of action is not uncommon or new by any means and is done to protect the integrity of law enforcement sensitive information and the integrity of our cases," the statement added.
Local
Zach Emanuel was walking on the 4200 block of North Hermitage talking on his cell phone around 10 p.m. when a man put his arm around the teen’s neck, putting him in a “rear chokehold," police have said about the Dec. 19 attack.
A second man then punched the teen in the face, knocking him to the ground and forcing him to drop his phone.
The pair took the phone and patted the teen down, asking, “What else you got?” according to the police report. They then told him to enter his security code in the cell phone and fled southbound on Hermitage.
Emanuel told reports a few days after the incident: “Zach is doing fine. I can’t say the same for his parents, but Zach is doing fine."
Editors note: A previous version stated 200 officers were suspended. We have updated our story after receiving a statement from police.
