During the press conference, authorities showed enhanced photographs of the video that indicate Johnson was carrying a gun at the time of the shooting.
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As Hernandez approached in his vehicle, he saw Johnson knock the other officer down to the ground, attorneys said.
Alvarez cited DNA found on the weapon matching Johnson and a live round that was found in the auto matching ammunition found in the gun that was recovered at the scene of the officer-involved shooting.
This move is largely a response to the ongoing controversy and public outcry surrounding the police killing of teen Laquan McDonald by Officer Jason Van Dyke in 2014. McDonald’s death gained national prominence last month, after Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder and a dashcam video of the shooting was released.
The Justice Department announced Monday that it has opened an investigation into the Chicago Police Department’s use of force to see if there are any patterns of civil rights violations. In more than 400 police shootings since 2007, the Independent Police Review Authority found serious fault with only two.
The 32 members of the IL legislature’s black caucus on Monday said the federal investigation of Chicago police should also include IPRA and Alvarez’s office. It could result in the Chicago Police being forced to operate under the terms of a court order, if the federal probe finds Chicago Police have violated the U.S. Constitution.
The Justice Department has opened 23 investigations of police departments since the start of the Obama administration.
Lynch further stated, “building trust between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve is one of my highest priorities as Attorney General….”
“None of the measures we have taken have ever measured up to the seriousness, the scope, the scale of the challenge in front of us as a city”, Emanuel said.
The Federal civil rights investigation is similar to ones recently undertaken in other cities, including Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri.
Lynch’s announcement came on the same day that a Cook County prosecutor announced that no charges would be filed in a second 2014 fatal police shooting because the man shot had a gun.
The mayor’s office says Emanuel, interim Chicago Police Superintendent John Escalante and acting Independent Police Review Authority chief Sharon Fairley will speak to reporters Monday afternoon. But the calls for the mayor to resign – something he said he will not do – have grown louder from protesters, including the voices of more than 200 people during a march on Sunday.
February 27: Lawyers for McDonald’s family approach City Hall about a possible settlement without filing a lawsuit, according to Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Police say Johnson pointed a gun at officers in October 2014 before an officer fatally shot him.
The attorney for the Johnson family, Michael Oppenheimer, said the prosecutors’ investigation was a “joke” and an affront to Johnson’s family and Cook County citizens.
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There is an investigation into the shooting, despite no charges being filed.
