Chicago mayor: Shooting brought city to ‘inflection point’

The official is not authorized to speak about the announcement and would only speak to Associated Press reporter Don Babwin on condition of anonymity. The shooting happened eight days before Laquan McDonald was also fatally shot by officer Jason Van Dyke in October 2014.

The incident took place in December 2012, and the man shown in the video, Philip Coleman, later died at a hospital after suffering an adverse reaction to an antipsychotic drug. He continues shooting even after McDonald crumples to the ground. The video does not include sound, which authorities have not explained. After 14 months of stalling on the Laquan McDonald investigation, further delay feels too much like further diversion and avoidance. The city’s early efforts to suppress the footage coincided with Emanuel’s re-election campaign, when the mayor was seeking African-American votes in a tight race. In announcing he had fired former police Superintendent Garry McCarthy last week, Emanuel announced he was creating a Police Accountability Task Force to recommend reforms. He said no. That deposition was taken nearly a month ago. Mayor Rahm Emmanuel said of this investigation, quote “we welcome it; we need it”.

The Chicago Police Department is pleased with the decision, as it also believe the shooting was justified, stating in its initial release that “the offender [Johnson] pointed his weapon in the direction of the pursuing officers”.

The City Council’s toothless approach on Chicago’s long history of police corruption reflects the top-down nature of how things run at City Hall – the mayor, whether it be Emanuel or his predecessor Richard M. Daley, has called the shots and the aldermen follow suit with little, if any, resistance. “We understand the concerns they have because of the political situation they have in the Congress”.

It was the first time in 30 years that a Chicago police officer was charged with first degree murder for an on-duty fatality.

The investigation will be conducted by the Special Litigation Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. That led to a few tense moments with police guarding the mayor’s office and at least one arrest. We all know this is a coverup, and nobody will be held accountable.

Calling Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s Monday press conference on the shooting death of Ronald Johnson by a Chicago cop a “27-minute infomercial”, Michael Oppenheimer, Johnson’s family’s attorney, had harsh criticisms for Alvarez’s decision to forgo pressing criminal charges against the officer who shot Johnson. Alvarez showed police auto dashboard video to reporters on Monday, which showed an officer firing at Johnson. “That’s why independent investigations are so crucial in these cases”, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement Monday.

The op-ed Emanuel published in the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune on Sunday focuses on rebutting the charge that the video of McDonald’s shooting was withheld because of the threat it posed to Emanuel’s election.

The Justice Department’s scathing report on Ferguson, Missouri, found sweeping patterns of racial bias within the police force.

Emanuel is expected to use his speech at 9 a.m. Wednesday to reframe his administration’s handling of police misconduct.

If the Justice Department finds systemic violations, the investigations typically result in court-enforceable agreements between the federal government and the community that serve as blueprints for change and are overseen by an independent monitor.

The trial of a Chicago police commander accused of shoving a gun into a suspect’s throat is set to begin.

The Chicago Police Department denied that Homan Square was home to anything unusual or illegal. He said the video “shows what’s been going on with the Chicago Police Department for years”.

Various city agencies spent well over a year investigating the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald, all while saying the release of the video could compromise the investigation.

Recent analyses of police reports following the McDonald killing – added on to official department statements to the media following the shooting – provide yet one more case study of the code of silence in action.