Chicago mayor orders review of police training following officer shooting
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is cutting his holiday vacation short to deal with the fallout from two people being fatally shot by police the day after Christmas, just as the city is dealing with blowback from another deadly altercation.
The latest police shootings killed Bettie Jones, 55, and college student Quintonio LeGrier, 19. The family of the other shooting victim, Quintonio LeGrier, said he was going through mental health problems and should not have been shot. And yesterday, family members and activists held a vigil.
The two individuals have since been identified as Bettie Jones and Quintonio LeGrier. This is an agency that only this year recommended for the first time the firing of a police officer involved in a shooting, even as the city paid millions in civil suits.
“The department extends its deepest condolences to the victim’s family and friends”, the Police Department said. Both LeGrier and Jones were killed in the shooting. Jones was shot by accident, police said.
Both Jones and LeGrief were black, and their deaths come amid scrutiny of police after a series of deaths of African-Americans at the hands of officers across the country gave rise to the Black Lives Matter movement.
The shooting follows outrage in the city over video released by the police department showing white Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was black, 16 times in 2014.
Police did not disclose the race of the officer or officers involved in the shooting, saying only that those involved will be placed on administrative duties.
Janet Cooksey, LeGrier’s mother, echoed Walker’s sentiments, criticizing the police for its excessive use of force and lack of an alternative plan when responding to calls.
LeGrier’s father Antonio said the officer knew he had “messed up” after he shot his son, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Chicago police said they were not releasing additional information about the shooting.
“Why you’ve got to shoot first and ask questions later?” asked Jacqueline Walker, a longtime friend of Jones. Mayor Rahm Emanuel also contacted Jones’ family to offer sympathies, his spokesman said.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office said LeGrier and Jones were pronounced dead at different hospitals within an hour, according to NBC Chicago.
Emanuel made the announcement in a statement on Sunday, saying, “There are serious questions about [Saturday’s] shootings that must be answered in full by the Independent Police Review Authority’s investigation”. “One hit an innocent lady who was just opening her door”.
In April, the city said it would pay $5 million to McDonald’s family.
LeGrier’s father, Antonio LeGrier, told the Chicago Sun-Times his son appeared to be a “little agitated” when the father returned to the apartment.
He said Jones told him his son was outside with a baseball bat. Each of these incidents shares a common thread: police were called to respond to mentally ill black people who were armed with non-projectile weapons or unarmed and then killed them without de-escalation attempts.
The 19-year-old was an engineering student at Northern Illinois University, according to relatives.
Cooksey denied that her son exhibited “combative behavior”.
“They develop a symptom known as “hyper vigilance”, which means they perceive that situations are more risky or more threatening than they really are”, said Mark Heyrman, U of C Clinical Professor of Law.
The police were responding to a domestic disturbance at an apartment when they opened fire on Saturday morning.
Sam Adam Jr., a Jones family lawyer, says Jones and LeGrier were apparently shot near the doorway, but that shell casings were found some 20 feet away.