No Criminal Charges Filed Against Chicago Officer Who Shot Ronald Johnson

The video of that shooting will be released yesterday, according to the local ABC affiliate, citing Johnson’s family.

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced today that she’s not charging Officer Hernandez over the shooting death.

Johnson was killed eight days before police fatally shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.

Also late Monday, the city released a video from 2012 that shows officers dragging a handcuffed suspect by the wrists.

Van Dyke was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. As they ordered him to drop it, Johnson allegedly took off running.

The state’s attorney also said that the driver of the vehicle, in which Johnson was riding with three other people when the auto was shot upon at South King Drive and 53rd Street, heard Johnson cocking a 9mm handgun in the back seat.

IL lawmakers are pushing legislation to make it easier to see videos depicting shootings by police. The city released the video only after a recent court order.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting (http://trib.in/1XW2I4I ) that Turner’s legislation has support from co-sponsor Rep. David McSweeney, a Republican from Barrington Hills.

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

A citizen denied records under FOIA may challenge the decision in court.

Emanuel initially said a federal civil rights investigation would be “misguided”, but then later reversed course.

Chicago’s chief of detectives just resigned. Lynch described the federal government’s inquiry as a tool for helping break the vicious cycle of cynicism that these killings produce in communities: “When suspicion and hostility is allowed to fester, it can erupt into unrest”, she said. Authorities say he pointed a gun at police before he was killed on October 12, 2014.

The US Justice Department said on Monday it will investigate Chicago’s police department following protests over the 2014 police shooting death of a black teenager, on the same day prosecutors said they would not seek charges in a similar case.

John Escalante, the acting police superintendent, also said the incident is again under investigation.

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch, pictured on December 7, 2015, said lawyers from the Justice Department’s civil rights division will lead the federal probe into the Chicago police force ” Our mutual goal is to create a stronger, better police department that keeps the community safe while respecting the civil rights of every Chicagoan”, he said.

Police killings of African-American men over the past year have shaken several USA cities and given rise to the “Black Lives Matter” protest movement.

– The Justice Department and Missoula, County, Montana, officials reached an agreement past year after a federal probe highlighted allegations of gender bias against victims of sexual assault.

– The Justice Department accused the Albuquerque, New Mexico, police department of engaging in “a pattern” of using excessive force after a two-year investigation.

Lynch said the “pattern and practice investigation” will look at the use of deadly force and the measures in place to make officers accountable.

AP In police dashcam video, Laquan McDonald (r.) is seen walking down the street moments before being shot by officer Jason Van Dyke in Chicago previous year.

In accounts at odds with video of the incident, some officers said McDonald continued moving and attempting to get up, with the knife still in his hand, after falling to the ground after Van Dyke fired his weapon.

Alvarez has been criticized for not filing charges long ago in the McDonald case, in which the video shows the teen veering away from officers when Van Dyke opens fire from close range.

In announcing McCarthy’s resignation, Emanuel said he had formed a five-person task force to oversee police accountability.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel this week replaced the board’s leader and named Sharon Fairley, a former assistant USA attorney, to take over the agency to help “reinvigorate an essential oversight body”.

“This is a joke”, Oppenheimer told reporters following the news conference.