Chicago Releases Thousands Of Emails On 2014 Shooting Of Laquan McDonald

Public trust is eroded in the police department, and there’s been a pall over the holiday season with the release of the Laquan McDonald video, which shows a white police officer pumping 16 bullets into a black teenager. “This case will undoubtedly bring a microscope of national attention to the shooting itself as well as the city’s pattern, practice and procedures in rubber-stamping fatal police shootings of African Americans as ‘justified'”. “I submit this particular shooting can be fairly characterized as a gratuitous execution”.

Alvarez said while she is urging “a thorough, professional” by the Independent Police Review Authority, her office has also contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.

More significantly, the release stressed “major reforms” and “policy revisions” that have been announced by the department in the wake of the McDonald video, such as implementing training for officers to “resolve confrontations using the least force necessary” and equipping every responding officer with Tasers by June 1. “These stories are getting done with or without us”. The dashcam video reveals that Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke fired 16 bullets into McDonald, some of which were shot after the teen had collapsed to the ground. “This is about Laquan McDonald and we should not do interviews about open investigations”.

Emanuel has denied ever seeing the video prior to its release, a contention many activists have said they do not believe.

Shortly after the McDonald video was released, the city released reports of police officers at the scene of that shooting, and this week, the city’s law department released thousands of pages of internal documents as a way to demonstrate its commitment to transparency.

Months before the video was made public, Emanuel’s administration was well aware of growing outrage about the case.

Emanuel and Chicago police have been under heavy scrutiny since the city, under court order, released the squad-car video.

The Cook County, Illinois State’s Attorney has requested assistance from the FBI in investigating the police-involved shooting that left a 55-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man dead last week.

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez said an outside review will help determine if criminal charges should be filed against the officer.

The top prosecutor also stressed that her office “does not control the pace or process of IPRA” and that the investigative agency needs “to get it right so that justice can be served”.