Embattled Emanuel speaks about Chicago police department

Earlier in the day Emanuel stood before the city council and accepted responsibility for his handling of the shooting, offering an emotional apology.

“We understand there’s a desire by some to insert politics into this discussion, but the mayor’s focus is not on his own personal politics”, said a new statement from Emanuel’s office.

Cortney wrote about the protests in Chicago yesterday, which called for Mayor Rahm Emanuel and State Attorney Anita Alvarez to resign in the wake of the police-involved shooting death of Laquan McDonald back in October of 2014.

State Representative Mary Flowers says the recall bill probably couldn’t apply to Mayor Rahm Emanuel – since it hasn’t even been passed and he’s already been elected. In November, the dash cam footage showed McDonald being shot 16 times, contradicting what was written in the police report on this incident; Officer Jason Van Dyke has been charged with first-degree murder. The protesters want him to resign, but we’ll see if he does.

For the next 40 minutes, Emanuel delivered a “genuine” and “heartfelt” speech about police brutality and city violence that seemed “real”, said critics and supporters alike who heard it, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Claire Holohan, who recently moved to the Uptown neighborhood from St. Louis and is white, said that while she has not experienced negative police treatment she wanted to support those who had.

Davis, who is black, said she fears for her 25-year-old grandson when he comes home from college.

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….”

Dane Tucker, a retired Chicago firefighter who believes Emanuel should step down, brought his 10-year-old grandson to the protest.

Mr Emanuel welcomed the investigation, which he said would bolster efforts to create a police force that “keeps the community safe while respecting the civil rights of every Chicagoan”, he said in a press release reported by the Associated Press.

Emanuel is not the only politician facing the wrath of Chicago residents.

A state rep is now saying Emanuel might have no choice but to step down, if a new piece of legislation calling for a special city election to recall the mayor makes it past state lawmakers.

The federal judge said he’d decide January 14 whether to order the city to release the footage. 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.

“What we’ve been seeing in these particular cases is they’re not Hollywood-quality videos”, she said.

More on Ford’s interview from CNN can be found here. Emanuel can help partially fix his legacy by making the structural changes in Chicago government at all levels that have been allowed to fester for decades that have led to today’s events.