The risk that a publicly released video could blow up not just locally but also nationally was made by lawyers from McDonald’s family, who reached out to the city about a settlement in early 2015, just over a month before Emanuel’s re-election. The officer pleaded not guilty this week to murder charges.
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More significantly, the release stressed “major reforms” and “policy revisions” that have been announced by the department in the wake of the McDonald video, such as implementing training for officers to “resolve confrontations using the least force necessary” and equipping every responding officer with Tasers by June 1.
“I submit the graphic dash cam video will have a powerful impact on any jury and the Chicago community as a whole”, attorney Jeffrey Neslund told city officials, the Associated Press reported.
Earlier in December, Chicago’s mayor also announced the resignations of the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, Gary McCarthy, and the head of the Independent Police Review Authority, Scott Ando, but protesters are demanding that the mayor also step down from office. That year, they shot 56 people, 24 of them fatally, department figures show.
Back in May, mayoral spokesman Adam Collins complained to colleagues that the Independent Police Review Authority’s didn’t follow his recommendation on how to respond to a TV station about McDonald.
Chicago’s top prosecutor asked the FBI to investigate the fatal shooting of two people by a Chicago police officer who was answering an domestic disturbance call.
Shortly after the McDonald video was released, the city released reports of police officers at the scene of that shooting, and this week, the city’s law department released thousands of pages of internal documents as a way to demonstrate its commitment to transparency.
The video showed McDonald veering away from officers before he was repeatedly shot, including while he was facedown on the pavement. John Escalante says his agency will do its best to regain the public’s trust as the new year unfolds. In a late July email exchange, top Emanuel aides anxious about the perception of a cover-up and noted recent news stories.
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Escalante cited a 21 percent increase in 2015 in the number of arrests in which a gun was confiscated as evidence that his officers are doing their jobs properly.
