Mayor, Interim Police Chief To Announce Changes In Chicago Police Training

In saying the number of Tasers will be doubled, Emanuel mentioned the McDonald shooting.

Van Dyke, who faces six first-degree murder counts, pleaded not guilty to the charges Tuesday.

Activists were skeptical Wednesday that the changes would reverse decades of problems and mistrust between Chicago residents and police. “With the right policies, the right procedures and the right practices, we can change our officers” perspectives to help them ensure their own safety and the safety of others”, Emanuel said.

In a statement issued over the weekend, Emanuel said he ordered Escalante and the city’s Independent Police Review Authority to review the department’s crisis-intervention team training. “I think it is time for the department to be a little less reactionary to some of the rhetoric that is going on and to plan for change, not just change for the sake of change”, said Dean Angelo, Fraternal Order of Police president.

Training under the new policy is scheduled to begin next week, notes the report. Protesters continue to call for Emanuel to step down.

Emanuel says the changes are aimed at “injecting some humanity” in how police operate.

There is a use-of-force module for every type of interaction officers have from the time they arrive at a scene, and the new policies will be emphasized in each module layer.

Ted Pearson is a leader of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, which advocates for the city to have a civilian police accountability council that isn’t appointed by the mayor.

The people of Chicago have protested since the two killings.

Pearson says, “The people have no trust in the police. They have no trust in the mayor”, Pearson said.

A vigil to remember 19-year-old Quintonio Legrier was held earlier in the day.

None of the officers who spoke appeared to be anxious until one radioed, “Shots fired by police, get an ambulance over here”.

The19-year-old mother, Janet Cookery, told CNN affiliate WLS that her son died.

Chicago, Illinois police will undergo changes in officer training, affecting interaction with suspects and the use of all types of weapons – from pepper spay to guns.

Recordings of Chicago police radio traffic surrounding the fatal shooting of a black teenager by a white officer show at least one responding officer asked for a Taser and — given that squad-car video lacks audio — offer a partial glimpse of officers’ discussions as events unfolded.

Around 20% of Chicago police officers now carry Tasers, Anthony Guglielmi, a Chicago Police Department spokesman, said.

The police department has been under scrutiny since a dashcam video was released last month showing a white officer shooting a black 17-year-old 16 times.