DOJ to examine Chicago Police Department’s use of force

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch planned a news conference on Monday to announce a “law enforcement action” relating to Chicago, the Justice Department said.

She concluded, “When suspicion and hostility are allowed to fester, it can erupt into unrest”. Justice Department officials say they use so-called patterns-and-practices probes to identify systemic failings in troubled police departments and to improve trust between police and the communities they serve. Those differences and the long delay between the October 2014 shooting and the November 2015 charges against Officer Jason Van Dyke – paired with data showing widespread issues with how Chicago handles citizen complaints against police – have raised questions about the mechanisms of accountability. Emanuel, who initially disagreed with calls for a federal civil rights investigation and is under pressure from critics over the McDonald case and, also said Lynch would have the city’s “complete cooperation”.

Of 409 shootings involving Chicago police since September 2007, only two have led to allegations against an officer being found credible, the Chicago Tribune reported, citing data from the agency that investigates police cases. The previous head resigned Sunday.

“I promise you I bring no agenda other than the pursuit of integrity and transparency in that work that IPRA does”, said Sharon Fairly, IPRA Chief Administrator.

An independent police board reviewed the dashboard camera video, McCarthy said, and decided that Officer George Hernandez was not wrong for shooting Johnson.

Dean Angelo, president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, the union that represents those officers, did not return calls seeking comment about the conflicting statements. Prosecutors say a loaded weapon was found in his hand after he was killed. “I have pretty much opened the door here”. Credit: Chicago Tribune ” Based on the totality of the evidence, no criminal charges will be filed against Officer Hernandez because a crime can not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt”, Ms. Alvarez said.

When asked why there was no audio on this video and others, Alvarez said: “That’s a problem for the Chicago Police Department, and I think they need to answer to that….”

Bishop Travis Grant, a spokesperson for the Coleman family, told FOX 32 News the family is horrified by the video footage and wants justice.

The video shows police repeatedly using a Taser on Coleman and dragging him out of a South Side lockup cell by his arms while handcuffed. The officer would continue to shoot for about 13 seconds after McDonald had been struck by theinitial gunfire, according to prosecutors.

Johnson’s relatives have pressed Chicago officials for squad auto video of the shooting and filed lawsuits.

Even worse, the cover-up seems to be still in effect today as Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other officials scramble to cover their tracks.

Since the release of the McDonald video, Emanuel forced Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy to resign and formed a task force to examine the police department.

Oppenheimer also noted that one witness, a civilian known as “witness A”, who did speak to the State’s Attorney’s office, said in a sworn deposition that “the idea of a gun wasn’t really a thing until they (detectives) presented the idea to me, or the situation to me”. Another protest is scheduled for Wednesday morning, organizers said.

The Department of Justice is investigating the Chicago Police Department.

It took a respectful poke to get Emanuel off his taking points when the topic of Rule 14 came up at a Monday news conference. The teen, who is holding what police said was a 4-inch knife, veers away from the cars, his back to them, and is shot 16 times.

We can not afford to have any resident of our city living in fear of the police and distrusting their words and actions.

The Justice Department in the last six years has opened more than 20 investigations of police departments.