Embattled Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a major overhaul of the U.S. city’s police force on Wednesday in the wake of fatal shootings which sparked mass protests.
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“This afternoon I directed the new acting chief administrator of the Independent Police Review Authority and the interim Superintendent of Police to meet with each other as soon as possible to review the crisis intervention team training, around how officers respond to mental health crisis calls”, the Mayor continued.
This weekend, Chicago officers shot and killed 19-year-old Quintonio Legrier and 55-year-old Bettie Jones, a mother of five and a bystander. The Chicago Police Department, already the subject of a federal civil rights investigation over its use of deadly force and other issues, has admitted the woman’s death was an accident. Thanks to the Black Lives Matter movement, young people across the nation have taken to the streets to peacefully, but forcefully, hold police departments accountable for their seemingly unbridled use of excessive force against African-Americans.
The news conference was Emanuel’s first public appearance since cutting short a family vacation to Cuba.
Both have been under intense scrutiny since a dashcam video was released last month showing a white officer shooting a black 17-year-old 16 times.
The day after the December 26, the police department admitted Bettie Jones was “accidentally struck and tragically killed”. Protesters continue to call for Emanuel to step down.
The police department says there are only a finite amount of Tasers in circulation, leaving about 30 per police district.
“Every city is going through a change in police practice, tactics and culture”, he said.
Van Dkye plead not guilty to the shooting death of McDonald Tuesday morning after he was arrested November 24 and released on $1.5 million bond.
“If you have eight officers – like in the Laquan McDonald situation – all calling for a Taser and none of them have it, we have a problem”, Emanuel said.
Under city law, the police department investigates shootings involving officers and then share its findings with IPRA, a separate city department responsible for determining whether the shootings are justified. McDonald, who was carrying a folded 3-inch knife, is seen veering away from officer Jason Van Dyke in the video before the officer starts firing.
Emanuel has denied ever seeing the video prior to its release, a contention many activists have said they do not believe.
About 15% of Chicago’s police officers have so far received training aimed at resolving incidents without violence, officials say.
By October, Henry noted organizing by community groups around the McDonald case and the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Rekia Boyd by another Chicago officer. The city has become the focus of Black protest following the videotaped gangland execution of Laquan McDonald, shot in the back by Officer Jason Van Dyke in a barrage of 16 bullets.
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Chicago officials are expected to announce changes in police training, including a requirement that every officer responding to service calls be equipped with a Taser.
