Emanuel Addresses Police Accountability

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Business

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday delivered an address on police accountability to the City Council that laid out a roadmap to restore the public’s trust in the police department. In his speech, Mayor Emanuel focused on three major areas: justice, culture and community.

First, Mayor Emanuel addressed the pursuit of justice on the issue of police misconduct, including the state’s attorney’s case against Officer Jason Van Dyke and the corresponding federal civil rights investigation; the U.S. Justice Department’s probe into the Chicago Police Department; his appointment of Sharon Fairley to head IPRA; and the recent agreement between the Chicago Police Department and the ACLU to have an independent evaluation of the department’s investigatory stop practices and procedures, additional data collection on stops by the department, better training for officers and better transparency for the public.

Second, the mayor discussed the Chicago Police Department and the culture of policing in America. The Police Board has begun a search for a new superintendent to addressing the deep-rooted problems at the very heart of the policing profession. In addition, acting Superintendent John Escalante has announced the expansion the use of body cameras to a third of the city and has said that there will be zero tolerance for patrol officers who fail to properly engage dash-cams. Further, police will be retrained in de-escalating tense situations and minimizing the use of force while reinvigorating community policing strategies.

Finally, Mayor Emanuel addressed what every Chicagoan can do to make communities safer, explaining that we cannot ask community members to respect police officers if police officers do not respect them in kind. As the mayor said today, respect must be earned and is a two-way street.

Comments are closed.