Chicago police probe announced; no charges in 2nd shooting

“A life was lost here, and that is a tragedy that can’t be taken lightly no matter the circumstances”.

Oppenheimer said Johnson did not have a gun, and the lawyer mocked Alvarez for relying on an Independent Police Review Authority investigation of the case.

“The inept and corrupt handling of both Laquan McDonald’s and Ronald Johnson’s cases, reveal complicity in cover ups that go all the way to the Mayor’s and State’s Attorney’s offices”, the group said in a statement. Out of view of the camera, the 25-year-old was shot twice, she said. Some of those calls were played at the news conference.

The auto circled back to the site of the party, and the driver told authorities that he heard Mr. Johnson cock a gun in the back seat. Two of those bullets hit Johnson, one behind the knee and the fatal shot that entered his armpit and exited out of his eye socket.

The video shows six officers entering Coleman’s cell. “The report, issued in March, found that officers routinely discriminated against blacks by using excessive force, issuing petty citations and making baseless traffic stops”.

In February, The Guardian revealed an alleged Chicago police “black site” where officers reportedly hold arrestees without listing them in booking databases.

She says Chicago is at a crossroads and change is in the air and on the horizon. She and her attorney have pushed for the video’s release.

One officer said he believed McDonald was attacking the officers and “attempting to kill them” when Van Dyke opened fire. They have filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming that Johnson was not armed when killed.

“You can see no gun”, he said. Oppenheimer maintains that it was impossible for Johnson to have been carrying a gun at the speed he was running, that the gun was planted, and that there is no justification for shooting someone in the back, according to ABC News and the New York Times. “It’s incredibly complicated.” When asked if the investigation would also look at Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, Lynch said, “Our investigation is focused on use of force and accountability in the police department”.

“We understand that the same systems that fail community members also fail conscientious officers by creating mistrust between law enforcement and the citizens they are sworn to serve and protect”, said Lynch, who was joined at a news conference by Zachary Fardon, the U.S. Attorney in Chicago, and Vanita Gupta, the head of Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

The family of a man who died after being in Chicago police custody say the factors leading to Philip Coleman’s 2012 death were exacerbated by officers’ actions and weren’t accidental.

“Officer Hernandez was shooting at a suspect running in a park where other people were… wow, that’s smart”, said Natalia Starling. Dick Durbin (D-IL), called for a Justice Department probe into the CPD’s practices.

Chicago police have not responded to CNN’s request for comment.

The dashcam video does not contain the audio from the police vehicle.

McDonald’s killing occurred eight days after Johnson’s. Unlike the McDonald dashcam video, viewers don’t see Johnson fall to ground. It comes almost two weeks after the release of a video showing a white Chicago police officer shooting a black teenager 16 times. A freelance journalist sued for it, arguing that the footage was public record.

A judge ordered the release of the video.

That video set-off widespread protests in Chicago. It could, but not unless we come away with a full understanding of what happened after the Laquan McDonald shooting, what consequences will be faced by the officers whose reports are contradicted by the video and who else was involved in hiding the truth. Protesters chanted, “16 shots and a coverup!” The video does not include sound, which authorities have not explained.

It comes on the day that Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced a new chief of the independent agency tasked with investigating police misconduct and said the Justice Department investigation of the Chicago Police Department is warranted.