Investigators with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability have called on the Chicago Police Department to strip a North Side officer of his police powers over \u201cinappropriate contact\u201d with female students while working as a part-time security guard at a local high school, recently released records show.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Officer Kenvar Pujoe remained on active duty as of Thursday, according to CPD, working in the alternate response section in the Rogers Park (24th) District.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a Feb. 3 memo to Superintendent Larry Snelling, COPA\u2019s interim Chief Administrator LaKenya White also recommended that Pujoe be removed from his part-time post at Sullivan High School, as well as \u201call other secondary employment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pujoe\u00a0was placed on unpaid administrative leave in February, pending the results of an investigation by the Chicago Public Schools\u2019 Office of the Inspector General. CPS doesn\u2019t comment on personnel matters, but sent a letter to Sullivan families notifying them of the investigation. CPD does not comment on pending investigations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
White wrote that Pujoe had been driving students around in his personal vehicle, paying for female students\u2019 manicures, bringing food to their houses as late as 3 a.m. and trying to bring students to school events and competitions even though those students were not supposed to be attending. Pujoe also worked as a coach at the school.<\/p>\n
Two people told COPA investigators that a female student had come forward to speak about an interaction with Pujoe, described in the memo as \u201cinappropriate contact.\u201d One person who spoke to investigators said he believed Pujoe to be \u201cgrooming\u201d students.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the memo to Snelling, White wrote that someone \u2014 evidently a school administrator whose name was withheld \u2014 had spoken to Pujoe about respecting boundaries with female students four or five times and specifically about his history of driving students in his personal car, White wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When confronted about his alleged conduct, the memo states that Pujoe cited his status as a police officer as a justification for driving students around.<\/p>\n
\u201cOfficer Pujoe told him that as a CPD officer, he holds responsibility for the students\u2019 safety,\u201d the memo read. \u201cOfficer Pujoe has received multiple write-ups for transporting students in his vehicle.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The memo also outlined instances where Pujoe had tried to bring a student to a downstate athletic competition and attempted to get students hotel rooms for competitions they were not supposed to attend. It later stated that several students had been seen getting off a bus from an event they hadn\u2019t been permitted to attend and told someone that Pujoe would be taking them home. He was fired as a coach \u201cdue to various concerns,\u201d the memo stated, and allegedly spoke publicly against the school principal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
White went on to recommend that Pujoe be relieved of his police powers and that department brass \u201creevaluate\u201d his side gig \u201cto ensure the safety of students (and) maintain public confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Public records show that the COPA complaint listed on White\u2019s memo remains pending.<\/p>\n
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