Family calls for answers after fatal shooting by Chicago police

She should not have to be shot down just coming to the door.

The announcement came weeks after the release of video of a white police officer’s killing of a black teenager added fuel to ongoing protests against the policing of American communities of colour.

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced earlier this month that a federal investigation into the Chicago Police Department would focus on whether there was a racial dimension to its use of force and its accountability procedures for officers involved in the use of force. John Escalante and the head of Chicago’s Independent Police Review Authority, Sharon Fairley, to review the department’s crisis intervention and de-escalation policies.

Jones’ family is expected to seek video footage of the shootings, which occurred early on Saturday, if any exists, in an attempt to get a clearer picture of what happened, according to its attorney.

Demonstrators led by Rev. Jesse Jackson march down State Street to protest the death of Laquan McDonald and the alleged cover-up that followed on December 6, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois.

Jones’ childhood friend Jacqueline Walker had questions for the police.

Those attending stressed that police should use nonlethal methods of policing like stun guns. LaTarsha Jones, center, the daughter of Bettie Jones, is comforted by family and friends during a news conference on Sunday, Dec. 27, 2015, in front of the house where Bettie Jones was killed Saturday in the West G…

Jones was accidentally struck, police said.

Autopsy findings released Sunday by the Cook County medical examiner’s office say Jones died from a gunshot to the chest and LeGrier from multiple gunshot wounds.

LeGrier’s mother, Janet Cooksey, told the Chicago Tribune that police didn’t have to react the way they did.

“Something just needs to be done”. Cooksey said. “I mean, whose gonna answer these questions?”

The Rev. Marshall Hatch, the pastor at New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, where Jones worshipped, told CNN on Monday that he suggested to the mayor there be “total and complete transparency” if Emanuel has hope of persuading some Chicagoans to trust police. The officer involved has been place on 30-day desk duty, part of a brand new police department procedure.

The lawsuit says Quintonio LeGrier never had a weapon and did nothing to suggest he was a threat before police opened fire.

Emanuel on Sunday issued a statement saying his interim police superintendent and a police oversight agency will determine any deficiencies in the training and act to correct them. He also said police can’t comment.

The mayor has welcomed a U.S. Justice Department investigation into whether Chicago police have made a habit of violating the law.

Family and activists amounting to roughly 100 people held a vigil for the victims on Sunday. His family said he suffered from mental illness.

“We need relief in Chicago”, Hatch said.

LeGrier’s cousin, Albert Person, said LeGrier’s father had invited his son to a holiday gathering at another home on Christmas. Antonio LeGrier said when he returned to his second-floor apartment early Saturday, his son appeared to be a “little agitated”.

“Emanuel, I want a personal apology for my son’s life”, Cooksey said. The suit, which doesn’t specify an amount in potential damages, also alleges police forced the father to go immediately to a police station to answer questions, separating him from his son as he was dying. LeGrier’s father called the police and then called Jones, his downstairs neighbor, to ask if she could open the door when officers arrived. He said Jones told him she saw his son outside with a baseball bat.

Bettie Jones, the other victim in the incident, was a neighbor who was watching for the police to arrive on the scene.