Chicago police civil rights probe coming

Lynch’s so-called “pattern and practice” investigation will examine use of force, use of deadly force, racial, ethnic and other disparities, and problems in the police department’s disciplinary process and its handling of misconduct allegations, she said.

“In the coming months, we look forward to engaging directly with all stakeholders in Chicago including the city’s residents, law enforcement officers and public officials as part of our fact-driven and thorough review”, Attorney General Loretta Lynch told reporters.

The catalyst for the investigation is a video released in November that shows Chicago police officers shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times. Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez said during a press conference on Monday, December 7, Ronald Johnson III was carrying a gun. On Friday, the official police report, which contained other officers’ accounts, was released, painting a different portrait than what the video portrayed.

Emanuel’s stance on the investigation is a sharp departure from his previous position, when he inititally said a federal civil rights investigation would be “misguided”. The calls for the mayor to resign – something he said he won’t do – have grown louder from protesters in the city, including more than 200 people who shouted that he step down during a Sunday afternoon march in downtown Chicago.

“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.

The video shows the teenager walking around and possibly away from police before gunshots rang out. Dick Durbin, and Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton were among many who have asked for a civil rights investigation of the Chicago Police Department. Alvarez charged Van Dyke with first-degree murder last month, hours before the release of dashcam video of McDonald’s death, which led to days of protests and the ouster of the city’s police chief. This past weekend, we learned those officers wrote reports that supported Van Dyke’s version of the story that McDonald was charging towards him with a knife, a fact that the video shows did not happen.

Ando will be replaced by Sharon Fairley, a formal federal prosecutor who most recently was first deputy to the city’s inspector general.

Last week, Emanuel announced that police superintendent Garry McCarthy had resigned.

The 32 members of the IL legislature’s black caucus on Monday said the federal investigation of Chicago police should also include IPRA and Alvarez’s office. But they fought releasing the video footage of the shooting, arguing that it would impede ongoing investigations into the incident.

The Justice Department is now negotiating with Ferguson, Mo., after finding widespread abuses in its Police Department and municipal courts.

The probe follows similar federal civil rights investigations that were launched in Ferguson, Mo., and Baltimore, in the wake of unrest in both cities.