Chicago Mayor Announces More Tasers, Training For Police

Dash-cam video of police shooting of Laquan McDonaldABC7 reporters and producers are sorting through those emails, including some in which officials discuss how to respond to requests to release police dash-cam video of the shooting.

“The emails also included messages in which officials asked how they should respond to demands for footage”.

The release of those emails comes one day after Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced changes in how the Chicago Police Department will operate.

At first, Emanuel also described the incident involving Van Dyke, who was charged with first-degree murder hours before the video was released, as the actions of one bad cop, only to later say during a special speech to the City Council that the department needed “complete and total reform” and was plagued by a “code of silence” that encourages cover-ups.

Police have admitted Jones’ shooting was an accident, saying she was tragically killed while officers were responding to a domestic disturbance call on the city’s West Side.

Chicago police will get new equipment and training to defuse tense situations and limit use of lethal force, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said on Wednesday, following weeks of protests calling for him to resign over his handling of fatal police shootings.

Misconduct and abuse among police officers will not be tolerated, Emanuel added, because it “makes it harder” for “good” police officers to do their job well.

The changes, on the heels of a weekend incident in which police fatally shot 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier and his 55-year-old neighbor, Betty R. Jones, are Emanuel’s latest response to the criticism surrounding police use of force and the city’s handling of investigations into police shootings. His office said he cut his trip short and returned to Chicago Tuesday.

“Upon arrival, officers were confronted by a combative subject resulting in the discharging of the officer’s weapon, fatally wounding two individuals”, a police statement said.

Public outcry has been furious since a dashcam video was released last month showing Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times.

After Quintonio LeGrier and Bettie Jones were killed, some African-American and Latino aldermen questioned Police Department use of force policies and called for all officers to be equipped with Tasers. Departmental policies have been changed to reflect the de-escalation priority, with the goal of making police and civilian interactions “less confrontational and more conversational”, Emanuel said. But, in his view, “They’re doing it now because a lot of political pressure has been exerted on the mayor”. Davis concluded that several police shootings he helped investigate should be ruled unjustified but he was overruled.

Indeed, the release of the video sparked national attention on Chicago police practices, led to the firing of Police Supt. The teenager, armed with a knife, was veering away from officers when Van Dyke opened fire.

Many of Emanuel’s opponents criticize the mayor, who is a close friend and former colleague of U.S. President Barack Obama, for only acting when a crisis erupts and not working to end decades of police abuse in the city.