A Chicago police officer will not be charged in the shooting of a 25-year-old black man who authorities said was armed with a gun as he ran away from officers, prosecutors have announced announced, the same day the federal government opened an investigation into patterns of racial disparity in the use of force by Chicago police.
The Justice Department investigation, announced by Attorney General Loretta Lynch yesterday, comes nearly two weeks after the release of a video showing a white Chicago police officer shooting a black teenager 16 times.
The investigation, which is separate from an existing federal investigation into last year's shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, will also review how the department disciplines officers and handles misconduct accusations.
Justice Department officials say they use such patterns-and-practices investigations to identify systemic failings in troubled police departments and to improve trust between police and the communities they serve.
"This mistrust from members of the community makes it more difficult to gain help within investigations, to encourage the victims and the witnesses of crime to speak up and to fulfil the most basic responsibilities of public-safety officials," Lynch said. "And when suspicion and hostility is allowed to fester, it can erupt into unrest."
The civil rights probe follows recent ones in Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri, and comes as the police department and Mayor Rahm Emanuel are under intense scrutiny over their handling of the October 2014 death of McDonald. Officer Jason Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder Nov 24, more than a year after the killing and just hours before the release of police dashboard camera footage showing the officer shooting the teenager.
Emanuel, who initially said a federal civil rights investigation would be "misguided" but later reversed course, said the city needs comprehensive solutions in the wake of the video showing McDonald's death.
Speaking at a news conference, Emanuel said the police department's challenges go beyond one case and he's making several reforms, including appointing a new leader for the Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates shootings by police.
The authority's new chief, Sharon Fairley, appeared with Emanuel at a Monday news conference at City Hall. The previous head resigned Sunday.
Also yesterday, Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said there would be no charges against Officer George Hernandez in the shooting of 25-year-old Ronald Johnson, whom authorities say pointed a gun at police before he was killed on Oct 12, 2014.
