When he sanctioned the city for Aumann’s actions, Chang said practices conducted by the Law Department placed its attorneys “at risk” for violating discovery rules because of improper training about requesting and collecting evidence and documents. The head of a city watchdog that investigates Chicago police shootings pledged greater transparency as the agency does its work, while at the time Monday a federal judge blasted the city’s legal arm for trying to hide evidence in one police shooting.
Advertisement
Monday’s 72-page opinion from U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang was part of a civil lawsuit brought by relatives of Darius Pinex, a black man, who was shot and killed by police during a 2011 traffic stop in Chicago.
On Tuesday, Emanuel echoed his “zero tolerance” policy for city employees who do not hold the highest professional standards, “especially an individual representing the city in a courtroom”. McCaffrey said the decision to look at the cases was made by the head of the city’s law department, Steve Patton, and that there are no plans to examine closed cases that Marsh worked on since joining the department in late 1997.
In the wake of the November release of the Laquan McDonald police shooting video, the mayor told aldermen last month that “a code of silence” exists in the Police Department to “cover up” wrongdoing. Officers Raoul Mosqueda and Gildardo Sierra testified during the trial that they pulled Pinex over, who was driving an Oldsmobile, because the auto matched the description of a vehicle that was wanted in connection to another shooting.
The judge granted the Pinex family a new trial and ordered the city to pay for the family’s attorney fees. The judge said a city lawyer “intentionally concealed” that evidence. When Chang pressed Marsh on why he hadn’t disclosed the existence of the recording as soon as he learned of it, the lawyer again backpedaled, saying it hadn’t crossed his mind that it would be something that might be helpful to the plaintiffs.
More than 20 police departments have been investigated by federal authorities during the last 20 years, a venture that has often forced municipalities and police to move toward reforms.
Bill McCaffrey said Jordan Marsh was either the supervisor or lead attorney in 37 police misconduct cases at the time the judge issued his ruling. Emanuel said Tuesday Jan. 5, 2015, that chief counsel Patton is handling “all the pieces” when it comes to any possible review of cases.
“There is a culture there of, ‘We are protecting the good guys, police, against bad guys and so we should be able to bend the rules to protect them”, Ms. Hamilton said. Now Republican Governor Bruce Rauner has chimed in, saying he is “very disappointed” with the way Emanuel, a Democrat, has handled the police misconduct cases, and that if he has the chance, he will sign legislation that would allow voters to try to recall the mayor.
The ruling involved a civil lawsuit brought on by Pinex’s family.
Advertisement
Given that there is now no law that enables the recall of his leadership, Emanuel’s job is not in immediate jeopardy.
