Chicago says it will release police shooting videos quickly

Attorney Locke Bowman speaks at a news conference in Chicago, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, where it was announced that a coalition of civil rights attorneys and others have filed a court petition seeking to force Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez to hand over the prosecution and any further investigation involving the fatal police shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald to a special prosecutor.

“This is an extraordinary measure that is necessary to restore public confidence”, Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia said at a news conference on the petition.

Kwame Raoul, and U.S. Reps.

Davis and Rush and several other politicians who signed on to the petition for a special prosecutor are backing Foxx in the race.

Sheila Bedi, an attorney with the MacArthur Justice Center, said Alvarez is too closely allied with the Fraternal Order of Police to handle the case fairly, and should be disqualified from representing the state in the McDonald case.

“If Anita Alvarez isn’t the state’s attorney anymore then this personal conflict isn’t an issue”, said Bowman, suggesting that the petition becomes moot if one of Alvarez’s challengers wins the election.

The petition says Alvarez repeatedly failed to charge police officers who committed crimes because she has a conflict of interest. “There are defense attorneys who are concerned that the release of video depicting their client may also lead to situations where their client may or may not get a fair trial based on the public perception from a video”, Acosta said.

In the footage, Van Dyke can be seen shooting the 17-year-old 16 times. They said they have “no faith” Alvarez will fairly prosecute Van Dyke and other officers.

Attorneys emphatically deny that this move is at all politically motivated as numerous elected officials present today are supporters of State’s Attorney candidate Kim Foxx.

IL law dictates that in an ongoing criminal case it’s the presiding judge who decides whether a special prosecutor is needed because of potential bias by a state attorney’s office.

The appointment of a special prosecutor would be a rare but not unprecedented step in Cook County, where allegations of clout and corruption have often seeped into criminal cases.

Family members are supportive of the effort. Alvarez is in the heat of a primary battle for her job in large part because of this case.

During last year’s protests over the McDonald killing, Mayor Emanuel fired the police chief and replaced the head of the police oversight agency.

Alvarez said in a statement that her office had built a meticulous case against Van Dyke and that highly skilled prosecutors would handle it. She defended her record, saying she had brought charges against 96 law enforcement officers in the past.

Alvarez’s office also questioned the timing of the requests for a special prosecutor, which were made just 28 days before the March 15 primary. They also say that of the group of at least 10 cops on the scene the night of McDonald’s death, only one of them has been charged, when they believe there could have also been some charges for evidence destruction, false statements and witness intimidation.

If Judge Martin grants a hearing, both Alvarez and the petitioners will have a chance to argue for or against the need for a special prosecutor.