“Attorneys who might be tempted to bury late-surfacing information need to know that, if discovered, any verdict they win will be forfeited and their clients will pay the price”, the judge wrote.
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Emanuel also said it’s not necessary for the U.S. Department of Justice to add the Law Department to its investigation into the Police Department’s use of excessive force. The department’s statement says it’s continuing to review its procedures. “I don’t think they cared that (Pinex) got killed, they didn’t care what the truth was and they didn’t care they cheated (with the evidence)”.
Separately, the city agency that investigates police shootings vowed greater transparency, saying Monday that it would start divulging some details of active cases as it tries to bolster public confidence in the process. The officers testified at the trial that they had pulled Pinex’s Oldsmobile over because it matched a description they had heard over their police radios of a auto wanted in an earlier shooting.
The payments come as the Chicago Police Department is under withering criticism since the release in November of a video showing white police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting black 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times in 2014.
A lawyer or Pinex’s family says Marsh’s conduct speaks to a bigger issues within the city. And there was no public telephone listing for a Jordan Marsh in Chicago.
Sean Kennedy of member station WBEZ tells our Newscast unit that the city hopes the settlements can help mend relations between police and the community, especially in light of several recent high-profile shootings of young black men.
Five officers who witnessed Officer Van Dyke gun down Mr. McDonald indicated that they saw the teenager turn toward the officer before he was shot – video evidence shows that wasn’t true. Emanuel said Tuesday Jan. 5, 2015, that chief counsel Patton is handling “all the pieces” when it comes to any possible review of cases.
On Dec. 27, police fatally shot 55-year-old Bettie Jones, who authorities said was killed accidentally, and 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier, who police said was being “combative”. “It shows the city hasn’t just fought to protect officers, it also fights tooth and nail to protect its lawyers”, Greenberg said.
Emanuel noted it’s up to the Justice Department to determine what areas and offices to investigate.
A new bill would allow voters to recall mayors and other elected officials.
The payments, which were vetted by an arbitrator and a professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Kent School of Law, are part of an ordinance passed by the City Council a year ago that includes “a formal apology, the construction of a memorial to the victims and the addition of the police torture to the city’s school history curriculum”, the Associated Press reports.
Monday’s ruling marked the second time in less than a year the judge sanctioned the Law Department for withholding records in a police misconduct lawsuit and ordered a new trial.
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Given that there is now no law that enables the recall of his leadership, Emanuel’s job is not in immediate jeopardy.
