COPA chief administrator Andrea Kersten is in day one of the new job, although she's served as interim chief since May.
CHICAGO -- Andrea Kersten, the new head of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, was officially approved by Chicago City Council Wednesday.Chief administrator Andrea Kersten is in day one of the new job, although she's served as interim chief since May and has been with COPA since it was created.
Kersten aims to reduce the time it takes to investigate police misconduct complaints and to release any video evidence more quickly. Among her projects, she is creating a new transparency team this summer to focus on the release of videos and materials. Her appointment initially got pushback after a recommendation from her office upset Chicago police leadership and some aldermen.
"That same level of care should have and could have been extended to this Gold Star family who did not know it was coming out before it did, and that's what I have profoundly apologized for," Kersten said."I personally believe in oversight. I think COPA serves an important, critical role in our oversight," Brown said.