Chicago Police Double Fatal Shooting Bolsters Push To Oust Mayor Rahm Emanuel
Chicago residents say the city’s leader has to go sooner, not later. Facing a federal probe by the Department of Justice over possible racial bias and pattern and practice civil rights violations, a fatal Chicago police shooting on Saturday that left two dead bolstered calls for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to step down due to “bad leadership,” according to a KTLA report.
Chicago residents and critics say the police-involved shooting deaths of 55-year-old Bettie Jones and 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier didn’t have to happen and represents a department that is out of control and systematically killing people of color, namely young African American boys and men. Others call the killings “an act of war.”
According to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, LeGrier died of gunshot wounds at a local hospital at 4:51 a.m. Jones, who was the young man’s neighbor in the Chicago West Side community, passed away about 20 minutes later at a different facility. The woman was a mother of five who police said was shot and killed accidentally, citing information from an ABC 7 News report.
Families of victims in Chicago police shooting demand answers https://t.co/alg32fNkz1 pic.twitter.com/tUWersheky
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) December 27, 2015
The double shooting by the Chicago Department comes on the heels of the release of videotape of the Laquan McDonald shooting, which resulted in citywide protests, allegations of police brutality, corruption on all levels of government, and a systematic cover-up — allegedly including Mayor Emanuel. After the double Chicago police shooting, the department released a statement to the family and public.
Furthermore, the mayor called for an immediate review of CPD’s policies, procedures and training in crisis situations. “Upon arrival, officers were confronted by a combative subject resulting in the discharging of the officer’s weapon which fatally wounded two individuals.
The department extends its deepest condolences to the victim’s family and friends.” The officer who shot and killed the two neighbors has not been identified. However, as per department policy, the officer has been placed on administrative leave until a full investigation takes place. It’s unclear if the shooting was justified or if there were any criminal elements in the deaths of Jones and LeGrier. Further, there is no indication at this point if the local prosecutor is considering charges against the Chicago police officer in the shooting.
Sunday, a new conference was held to up date the public on the deadly weekend incident. Family members in attendance prodded and admonished police over the decision to use lethal force. At the news conference, family members wanted to know why police had used lethal force. A vigil for the two was planned for later on Sunday. LeGrier, a sophomore at Northern Illinois University, was home for Christmas and visiting his father, landlord of the two-story wooden frame building where the shooting occurred, they said.
Families demand #ChicagoPolice, mayor explain shooting deaths https://t.co/Vlg5vvrn9w
— Pedro da Costa (@pdacosta) December 28, 2015
Cheryl Dorsey is a CNN law enforcement contributor/consultant and a retired Los Angeles police sergeant. She says deadly force should be used as a last, not first resort to a crisis situation; the incident was related to an alleged domestic disturbance. Dorsey said the public has every right to inquire by the use of non-deadly force, such as stun guns.
“Where was the Taser? Why didn’t they deploy a Taser? If they didn’t have one on scene, they should have had one with an officer who was responding as backup. What was the urgency? There was no exigent circumstance that the officers could not have waited until a Taser arrived on scene.”
On the death of McDonald, several videos released, based on the Freedom of Information Act, led to the termination of former Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy. Moreover, the graphic recording of the fatal shooting led to the arrest and indictment of Officer Jason Van Dyke, who was charged with first degree murder.
The Chicago police shooting is likely to add fuel to the drive to oust Mayor Rahm Emanuel. He’s since apologized for the surge in violence during police-citizen contact. He also pledged to reform the criminal justice system and takes full responsibility what happens on his watch. However, many say it’s not enough, and new leadership is needed to stop the deadly encounters and troublesome crime rates.
[Photo by Joshua Lott/Getty Images]
