A video released by the Independent Police Review Authority Friday shows a 2014 police shooting of a driver as he reversed near them in an attempt to flee.
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A Chicago panel has released a cache of evidence relating to 101 cases of shootings involving officers and alleged police misconduct.
But the expected release of information has not yet quelled concerns about the problem with police misconduct in the city. While Emanuel has gotten much of the blame for the recent police scandals, however, Dick Simpson, a political scientist at the University of IL, says it will take more than the mayor to reform the police department.
The new trove of material is being released thanks to Mayor Rahm Emmanuel’s Police Accountability Task Force, which was created following high levels of public pressure that followed the release of the McDonald video. Numerous videos don’t appear to show the full incident, lack audio or are blurry, but several show shootings and other violent interactions with police.
The survivors, John Givens and Leland Dudley, also were shot multiple times by police and sued the department for excessive force.
“For years, IPRA has said letting this kind of information out will harm the ongoing investigations, but the video is going to be the same no matter when it’s released”, Matt Topic told the Chicago Sun-Times.
The new rules, which were recommended by Emanuel’s Police Accountability Task Force that was former amidst the fallout of the McDonald video release, call for video and audio recordings as well as initial police reports to be released within 60 days of an incident.
The agency releasing the video, IPRA, has been criticized by activists as toothless.
An attorney who represented the independent journalist who pressed for what was the eventual public release of the police dash-cam video of the McDonald shooting called today’s information release “long overdue”.
Emanuel has announced plans to replace IPRA with a new civilian review board.
She says the release of the video isn’t a gauge of an investigation into an officer’s behavior.
Craig Futterman, a University of Chicago law professor who helped get the McDonald video released, said he was impressed. Police opened fire on the vehicle, killing one of the people in the auto.
The video then appears to show the officer striking Smith with a baton and forcing him to the ground.
Strong was attempting to flee the scene of a burglary when he backed into a police cruiser, with officers saying he almost ran a cop over in the process.
The agency that investigates Chicago police misconduct cases is releasing materials from about 100 incidents on Friday.
Another shows officers firing at a van that barrels in reverse out of an electronics store. There were calls for Emanuel to resign and the police superintendent was sacked.
Jamison, who survived the shooting, was charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault and resisting arrest.
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Lisa Simmons and Jeremiah Smith filed a lawsuit claiming they were unjustly beaten by police after officers showed up at a July 2014 party. As recently as previous year, the city turned down several Freedom of Information Act requests for video of the McDonald shooting.
