“Commissioner Ramsey is a not only a national leader in urban policing who has led two major police departments through civil rights reforms – he is also a native Chicagoan who knows our police department and our communities”, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. The video sparked the biggest crisis of Emanuel’s administration and cost Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy his job. According to the New York Times, Ramsey has “invited” federal reviews of police departments in both Washington and Philadelphia.
Advertisement
On Monday, Emanuel praised Ramsey as a nationally recognized law enforcement leader who remains widely trusted within Chicago’s police force.
Ramsey will return to his roots to advise the Chicago Police Department and help guide civil rights reforms in the embattled department.
The Chicago Police Department is now under investigation by the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights division in wake of the release of dashcam video showing a Chicago Police officer shoot and kill teenager Laquan McDonald.
Later that year, Ramsey assumed charge of the Washington, D.C. police department, where he served until early 2007 before becoming Philadelphia’s police commissioner. Sharpton said he doesn’t see how Emanuel can continue doing his job now, and that the time has come for a change. Ramsey, named to an adviser position, previously served the CPD as deputy superintendent. Ramsey chose to stay in Philadelphia, where he retired. He said Ramsey’s call for the Justice Department to investigate the Philadelphia force showed his willingness to address issues of concern for residents by obtaining an outside view of officers’ behavior. “But the people of Chicago should know that their leaders are working hard to restore trust where it has been lost. Progress won’t happen overnight, but a sustained and continued effort will put Chicago on a path forward”.
Advertisement
Ramsey was picked to co-chair President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, formed in the aftermath of a spate of high-profile police killings and protests that began in the summer of 2014. He also serves on the U.S. Homeland Security Advisory Council.
