Evanston Police Chief Demitrous Cook To Step Down As Top Cop

EVANSTON, IL — Chief Demitrous Cook announced his retirement from the Evanston Police Department Monday. The announcement comes after Cook reported being blindsided by a Friday meeting where senior city staffers presented him with a severance offer, Patch has learned.

“It has been an honor to serve this community for more than 30 years,” Cook said in a statement issued by the city. “Public safety requires building a strong partnership and positive relationships between the community and the police officers who serve them each and every day."

During Cook's 2½-year tenure as its chief, the department increased its focus on community engagement initiatives and improved the process for filing complaints about officer misconduct, according to the statement. Cook also oversaw a move to an encrypted police radio system.

Last year, Cook worked with the Northwestern Neighborhood and Network Initiative to conduct an external review of the city's use of force policies as part of the Obama Foundation's Commit to Action Pledge. He also participated in Black Lives Matter protests following the murder of George Floyd and received praise from residents for his work improving relationships between police and the community.

"I would like to thank the entire Evanston community, City Manager Erika Storlie and the Evanston City Council for their support as we have worked to improve quality of life, solve problems, and make our city safer for all who live, work and visit here,” Cook's continued in the city's statement.

Cook has not responded to a request for further comment about the circumstances of his departure.

And there was no immediate word on the effective date of Cook's resignation or an interim successor in the city's announcement, which does not include any comment from Storlie or Mayor Daniel Biss. Patch has requested comment from both, and any response received will be added here.

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Cook, 62, began his career with Northwestern University's private police force in 1981 and joined the Evanston Police Department as a patrol officer. He rose through the ranks to become deputy chief for six years before departing in 2010 t0 become chief in south suburban Glenwood.

After Cook was hired as Evanston chief and succeeded retired Chief Rich Eddington in January 2019, he moved to the 5th Ward home of former Mayor Lorraine Morton.

"I'd like to thank the city of Evanston, the people in the city of Evanston, for trusting me," Cook said in remarks after taking the oath of office. "I'm going to do the best job that I can do."

In February 2020, Cook publicly apologized for social media posts that included names, addresses and birthdays of people that he said he had collected as part of an investigation and accidentally posted on Snapchat.

A class action suit filed by other men whose information the police chief posted was settled in April for $90,000.

"As far as I can tell, there's been no accountability from the employee responsible for it," said the lone vote against approving the settlement, 6th Ward Ald. Tom Suffredin.

A federal lawsuit filed by a man whose picture was accompanied by the letters "HIV" remains pending, with a status hearing set for later this week.

Billing records obtained through a public records request show the city spent more than $16,300 on legal bills for Cook in the case between May 2020 and March 2021.

Earlier this year, Cook prematurely announced a homicide victim had died following a shooting spree.

Cook told multiple people he had been summoned to a meeting Friday with the city manager and her recently appointed second deputy, Kelley Gandurski, where he was presented with the terms of a separation agreement that included severance payments, Patch has learned.

The chief did not sign that agreement, and city officials did not immediately release the contents of any severance deals with the chief.

The meeting between Storlie, Gandurski and Cook was first reported Sunday by the Evanston RoundTable.

Patch has requested public records from the city regarding Cook's contract, employment record and any settlements over the terms of his department and will include them here when received.

According to a 2019 agreement with the City Council, Cook has one year after his departure to pay back a no-interest $100,000 loan to the city.

The newly seated City Council has not held any executive session meetings at which Cook's departure could have been discussed.

Rev. Michael Nabors, president of the Evanston/North Shore branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said Cook had unquestionably improved the level of trust between Evanston police and the city's Black community, across multiple generations.

"In the short time that Chief Cook has held the position, he's made a profound difference in the city of Evanston," Nabors said.

"Blacks in Evanston are able to breathe easy that they have friends in the Evanston Police Department. I think that there is a tremendous inclusivity and diversity that exists within the department itself. We see so many minority officers, I think that's a positive," he added. "I think the greatest thing that the chief brought to the table was the ability to reach out and develop collaborations."

Kevin Brown, who worked briefly with the then-incoming chief on outreach to at-risk youth before his controversial firing as a community services manager, also praised the retiring top cop.

"Chief Cook has been, in his short time as chief, just an exceptional person [and] human being, someone who had a particular care and concern for the African American children, especially," Brown said. "He brought a very unique approach that improved the quality of life for communities."