>>> The videotaped assault of Dr. David Dao by airport police at the behest of United triggered a media firestorm. Lots of media outlets, from the Los Angeles Times to Judicial Watch to Heavy, filed an Illinois Freedom of Information Act request for documents about the incident. On April 24, 2017, the Chicago Department of Aviation released four surveillance videos, two audio recordings of police channels, and a bunch of paper documents relating to the easily avoidable incident.
Of all the media outlets that got these documents, only Judicial Watch was good enough to post the link and password (April92017c0c) to the Dropbox that Chicago set up, thus giving us access to everything, including four surveillance videos of two hours each, hour-long audio of two police channels, the incident reports, and personnel files for the four airport cops who got suspended. For convenience, and because Chicago could pull down the Dropbox at any time, I've posted the audio and video to the Internet Archive for safekeeping and have embedded them here. I've also posted the PDFs below.
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This file is labeled "CPD," so it is apparently a recording of a Chicago Police Department channel:
This file is labeled "APD," so it is apparently a recording of an airport police channel:
All descriptions of these documents are from the letter accompanying the release. The file names have been kept the same.
"1. CDA Accident/Incident Report: this documentation consists of the CDA’s completed Accident/Incident Report, statements from the officers that were involved in the incident, an April 9, 2017 O’Hare Communications Center Display Event printout and the Incident/Passenger(s) Complaint of David Dao." [PDF]
"2. Supplemental Report of Aviation Security Officer James Long dated April 10, 2017." [PDF]
"3. Supplementary Report dated April 11, 2017 correcting the date of the Accident/Incident Report from March 9, 2017 to April 9, 2017." [PDF]
"4. O’Hare Communications Center Display Event printout from April 10, 2017." [PDF]
"5. Event Chronology for ORD Event Number #P170401725." [PDF]
"6. Policy and Procedures Field Manual dated May 2002: Section 1/4.2 on page I-8 addresses the use of force by Aviation Security personnel (in two PDF files)." [PDF 1] [PDF 2]
"7. Safety & Security Division Direction 13-03 (Use of Force Policy) dated March 1, 2013." [PDF]
"8. Memo from Aviation Security Deputy Commissioner dated April 17, 2017 regarding the Use of Force Policy." [PDF]
"9. Personnel files for the four Aviation Security personnel that were placed on administrative leave as a result of the incident on the airplane (in four PDF files)." [James Long] [Steven Smith] [Mauricio Rodriguez] [John Moore]