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Protesters keep up pressure on mayor over police shootings
Also on Thursday, the city released to the media a trove of emails – hundreds of messages, covering about 3,000 pages – regarding the McDonald case.
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Every Chicago police officer on the beat will be armed and trained with a Taser by June as part of a “major overhaul” of the Chicago Police Department’s lethal force policy to be unveiled Wednesday, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said.
Without specifically mentioning the fatal shootings of Quintonio LeGrier and Bettie Jones by a Chicago Police officer in West Garfield Park last weekend, Emanuel said the move was a long time coming. Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to six charges of first-degree murder and one count of official misconduct.
Earlier in December, Chicago’s mayor also announced the resignations of the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, Gary McCarthy, and the head of the Independent Police Review Authority, Scott Ando, but protesters are demanding that the mayor also step down from office. The change comes in the aftermath of mass protests sparked by a series of police killings.
The Cook County, Illinois State’s Attorney has requested assistance from the FBI in investigating the police-involved shooting that left a 55-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man dead last week.
“He is cutting his family trip short so that he can continue the ongoing work of restoring accountability and trust in the Chicago Police Department”, Stephen Spector, another spokesman for the mayor, said in an email. Police have said LeGrier was combative and that Jones was shot by accident. “I also directed interim Superintendent Escalante and acting head of IPRA, Independent Police Review Authority, Sharon Fairley, to review the crisis response policies that are in place so that we can see what needs improvement and what needs to be changed”.
The department is now the under federal investigation.
Quintonio LeGrier, a Northern Illinois University student, and his neighbor Bettie Jones, a mother of five children, were killed Saturday while officers responded to a domestic disturbance.
Emanuel’s announcement on training that emphasizes de-escalation speaks more to the broader concerns raised for years in some Chicago communities that officers are too quick to aggressively respond to people they confront.
Emanuel noted that on audio recordings of communications between dispatchers and officers on the scene the night of McDonald’s shooting, several officers can be heard “frantically” asking for a stun gun before the shooting.
According to ABC 7, other changes include encouraging officers to call backup before heading into risky situations and extending the minimum amount of time an officer has to spend on desk duty following a shooting from 72 hours to 30 days.
Emanuel told reporters Wednesday that just because officers are trained to use lethal force does not mean they should use it indiscriminately. The video of McDonald’s fatal shooting was released last month.
Since the release of the McDonald video in late November, Emanuel has been forced to change course numerous times on high-profile police issues.
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“There’s a problem that has to be addressed”, Emanuel said.