Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether the Chicago Police Department’s practices violate federal and constitutional law.
Madigan said Tuesday that the “shocking death” of Laquan McDonald, a black 17-year-old who was fatally shot by white police officer in 2014, raises serious questions about the use of lawful and excessive force. She says trust in the police department is “broken.”
In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Madigan noted four other high-profile cases in Chicago, including the death of 25-year-old Ronald Johnson, who was shot by police last year.
Madigan says an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department’s civil rights division is “necessary and appropriate” because of its experiences looking into police department practices nationwide.
She says the handling of investigations of police misconduct by an independent panel, police board and superintendent also raises troubling questions.
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I applaud this investigation and the firing of the police chief – as a Chicagoan, I’m not sure I would have wanted to continue to live in a city where I’d have to risk my life every time I wanted to run around in the middle of a busy street wielding a knife while high on PCP. It will be nice to have a city where we can once again swing weapons at crowded intersections and in fast-food parking lots while whacked-out on hallucinogens without fear of being hassled by the man. Kudos, Rahm and Madigan! I feel safer already.
Now that’s some high-octane snark right there, brother.
Gosh! I missed all that on the video. I never saw this kid once swing his weapon at an intersection…maybe that was on the Burger King video (that the police deleted). The video that I saw showed a kid running straight down the center of the street, and considering the police cars around him, I honestly have to think that only a sniveling coward could have “feared for his life” from him.
I also didn’t see a coroners report, so I don’t know about PCP being found. Could you please provide a link to that? Or could you maybe be making this all up?
Yes, he had an open knife in his hand, and yes, he was on PCP. Chicago has many fine newspapers and news stations, and through the magic of this series of tubes called the Internet, they are all available at the click of a mouse! Voila! It’s magic!`
By the way, not sure why you sound a little bent out of shape – all I’m saying is that when I get all jacked up higher than a kite on angel dust, and feel the unquenchable, irresistible urge to wander the streets looking for something to cut, I don’t want to have to be worried about the po-po raining on my parade. Can you dig it?
Apparently, reggid is really into the smell of shiny boots in the morning.