US Justice Department to probe Chicago police over violations

The city has also seen near daily protests in which activists have called on Emanuel and Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez to resign.

Hundreds of pages of Chicago police reports released earlier this month by the city showed that Van Dyke and at least five other officers claimed that McDonald moved or turned threateningly toward officers, even though the video of the shooting showed McDonald walking away. The school’s leader, Tim King, was one of the people Emanuel named to the new board. He has called for systemic reform to bring safety to every community and rebuild trust where it has been lost.

FILE – In this December 7, 2015 file photo, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, accompanied by Interim Chicago P …

Last week, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the Department of Justice would be launching a civil “pattern and practice investigation” into the police department to determine whether last year’s fatal police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was part of a larger, widespread pattern of officers violating civil rights.

Emanuel told reporters Wednesday he’s been meeting with officers in several districts over the last few days and sees officers’ dedication.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel was heckled Wednesday at Chicago’s Urban Prep Academy as students began shouting “16 shots, 16 shots” at the end of an assembly to announce Emanuel’s citywide strategy to expand opportunities for minority youth. He says two members of his administration flew to Washington, D.C., last week to meet with federal officials.

Emanuel says the city will full cooperate and it’s in Chicago’s best interest to do so because of the city’s deep-seated problems. President Barack Obama’s former chief of staff said Wednesday that the federal investigation, to which he was initially cool, will bring a “fresh set of eyes” on persistent allegations of police misconduct.

It’s the first meeting in the federal civil rights investigation into officer’s use of force.

Based in part on how such investigations have unfolded in elsewhere cities, Wednesday’s meetings are most likely get-acquainted sessions.

At one point, a group of protesters who’ve been vocal since the release of the Laquan McDonald video, briefly disrupted that hearing.

Chicago’s top cop and the heads of agencies who police the police were all grilled by aldermen who themselves were feeling the heat over the use of deadly force. He described it as an off-the-record talk during which he said the union wanted to “help facilitate… the investigation”.