All these incidents are under investigation by the Independent Police Review Authority.
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The incidents in question are expected to be a mix of police shootings and situations where officers are alleged to have used excessive force, and about half will have video or audio recordings.
In a video from June 2014, Michael Cote tries to drive through a narrow street between police cars and hits a nearby building. Officers open fire, killing a suspect and wounding two others, according to the New York Times.
The officer said he struck Smith in “defense”, and that the suspect was reaching for an unknown object in his pocket while on the ground.
The police report claims Smith was walking in between officers trying to make an arrest and threw a punch, but this is not captured in the video.
FILE – In this March 23, 2016 file photo, Sharon Fairley, chief administrator of the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) for the city of Chicago, speaks at a news conference in Chicago. “We need more transparency about the entire IPRA investigation process, including the outcomes of their investigation”.
The video-not to mention a long history of mistrust of the police force by the community-prompted the IPRA to release the videos.
Flint – who has been working on civil rights cases in the city for 47 years, as the founding member of the People’s Law Office- said Friday’s release of case files was an important step, but not the last one. Officer Jason Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder, and a Cook County judge said Thursday he would appoint a special prosecutor to handle the case.
The task force recommended a complete overhaul of many aspects of the Chicago police department’s operations, including that all videos relating to police shootings be released within 60-90 days after the incident.
The Washington Post reports the disclosure follows intense scrutiny of the city’s department. There were calls for Emanuel to resign and the police superintendent was sacked. Friday’s release of case files is an effort to implement at least some of the reforms suggested by the panel.
Emanuel announced in May that he is abolishing IPRA and replacing it with a civilian department that he said will have more independence and resources to do its work.
“Decades of secrecy and institutional denial should give us reason for skepticism about this, but I look forward to seeing whether this will really be a significant step in the direction of transparency”, Futterman said. “This really has the potential to mark a new day in Chicago”, says Mr Futterman.
But that didn’t stop Emanuel from hailing the video dump as a “bold” step toward restoring public trust shattered by the city’s handling of the Laquan McDonald shooting video. But elsewhere around the country, the public often must wait months or years to gain access to the videos. In legal cases, the city would ask for protective orders against release of video evidence.
Numerous videos only capture part of the encounter with police, and documents, for the most part, reveal few clues as to the context surrounding them.
Another video was released without any accompanying reports or explanation: A man is seen inside a police facility speaking with an officer.
He says some of the videos are only partial clips of what happened, and don’t include audio.
“The concern is they’re putting this out there, and (the officers’) kids and neighbors are going to see it, and we’re not getting the entire incident”, Angelo said. IPRA continues to investigate the officers conduct in the incident.
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“It’s nearly like people want cover with the byline of ‘transparency”, Angelo said.
