A high-ranking Chicago police official could be suspended for making inappropriate comments about LGBTQ+ people after a protest during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) over the war in Gaza.
The Chicago Police Department’s Bureau of Internal Affairs recommended Area 1 Deputy Chief Don Jerome be suspended for 28 days after being accused of making “offensive, misogynistic, homophobic and racist” comments about the treatment of gay people in Palestine, according to an administrative summary report.
A Palestinian American police sergeant accused Jerome of making the remarks Aug. 20 at the Deering District police station while discussing a protest that happened days earlier and was organized by advocates for LGBTQ+ rights and a free Palestine, according to the summary report.
“If those LGBTQ protesters were in Palestine, those Muslims would behead them for being gay,” Jerome allegedly said.
Attorney Thomas Needham, former general counsel to CPD who is representing the sergeant who raised the complaint, said Jerome made the comments during a catered lunch the district was hosting for officers and non-police members of the community who worked during the DNC.
“He made these comments in front of dozens of other department members and civilians,” Needham said. “The fact that he’s in this high leadership position and feels comfortable publicly spouting this ignorance and hate in a place with other people around … is really egregious.”
Internal investigators interviewed witnesses and those involved in the complaint and determined Jerome made “an offensive derogatory statement regarding LGBTQ+ protesters,” according to the summary report.
Jerome was also accused of threatening retaliation by allegedly pointing at the sergeant and saying, “I will remember your name.” That allegation was not sustained by investigators.
A spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department said Dec. 18 the disciplinary process regarding the incident remained ongoing.
Needham said he and his client are “grateful about the fact that the internal affairs unit moved relatively quickly on this” and that Jerome was found to have violated the rules.
“So we’re very satisfied and grateful at the reaction that the internal affairs unit had, but the thing is this is just a recommendation,” Needham said. “The superintendent has to approve all disciplinary action in the police department, whether it be a reprimand, a suspension or termination.”
In addition to Jerome serving the 28-day suspension, the deputy chief should be removed as a member of the command staff, Needham said.
“It is incomprehensible that the department’s going to keep this person in that position of leadership in light of these demonstrated acts about his attitude, views and behavior,” Needham said. “How can he stay in this position now that the whole city knows about his behavior and how he acts? That part needs to be addressed by the superintendent.”
Jerome also faces a possible suspension over a separate incident in which he was accused of improperly handing over a list of juvenile records to one of the city’s deputy mayors, according to an administrative summary report from that probe. The investigators found Jerome violated the rules by doing so and recommended him for a 28-day suspension.
The Chicago Sun-Times first reported on these two incidents.
Jerome was also suspended for 28 days in 2020 over his role in the cover-up of former police Supt. Eddie Johnson’s drunken driving incident in 2019, according to the Sun-Times. At that time, Jerome was commander of the Deering District.
“He’s just not capable of ethically leading this department, and nobody with a record like this guy would survive any public or private organization,” Needham said.
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