The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/tag/chicago-police/)
The rate of suicide among Chicago police officers is as much as 60 percent above the national average. Critics say the problem has been exacerbated by a lack of mental health resources, with just three clinicians serving 12,500 sworn officers and their families.
President Trump calls Chicago Fraternal Order of Police leader Dean Angelo and others from the union to discuss what to do about the ongoing gun violence in the city.
Former Chicago Officer Jason Van Dyke, already charged with murder, has been indicted on 16 counts of aggravated battery in the controversial 2014 shooting death of Laquan McDonald. A law professor says prosecutors may be concerned that murder will be difficult to prove.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he didn’t want to make promises he couldn’t keep to police chiefs at a time of proposed cuts to the Justice Department budget. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson sought more federal prosecutions of gun crimes.
Rally opposes draft of a new Chicago Police Department use-of-force policy released yesterday that would give officers more latitude in deciding when to fire their weapons. The new draft backs off a suggestion that officers not use force unless “all other reasonable alternatives have been exhausted.”
Ten days after it occurred, police officials gathered to watch a video of the controversial 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald by Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke and concluded the shooting was justified. A lieutenant who attended the meeting says in newly revealed documents, “Everyone agreed that Officer Van Dyke used the force necessary to eliminate the threat, and that’s pretty much it.”
The development continues the fallout in the Oct. 20, 2014, shooting by Officer Jason Van Dyke of Laquan McDonald. The cop’s colleagues claimed McDonald was menacing them with a knife. But video showed the victim walking away from the officers when Van Dyke opened fire. He is charged with murder.