Tag Archives: DASHCAM

4 cops at Laquan McDonald shooting suspended for faulty dashcams

(CHICAGO) Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson has suspended four officers who were at the scene of the Laquan McDonald shooting in 2014 for not ensuring their dashboard cameras were working properly.

In a quarterly report released Wednesday, the Office of Chicago’s Inspector General said it: “issued findings and disciplinary recommendations of suspension for four other officers, on the basis of which the Superintendent issued one week suspensions for each of the four individuals.”

Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed Johnson had suspended the four officers — who were not named — for one week each as punishment for not ensuring their dashboard cameras were working properly on Oct. 20, 2014.

It was not known Wednesday night when the suspensions were to be served or specifically how the cameras malfunctioned.

Five dashboard videos taken from different angles at the scene of the Laquan McDonald shooting have been released.

None recorded any audio, including the graphic video that shows Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting the 17-year-old 16 times as he walked away from police holding a knife. Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder and is currently awaiting trial.

The inspector general’s office had initially recommended discipline for 15 officers who were at the scene of the Laquan McDonald shooting. The four who received weeklong suspensions were the last of those 15 to be disciplined.

Based on those recommendations, Johnson moved to fire five of those cops, including Van Dyke. Their cases are pending before the Chicago Police Board.

Not all those recommended for discipline by the inspector general were formally punished, though.

In a Dec. 8, 2016 lawsuit, the city’s Inspector General, Joe Ferguson, said: “The Superintendent disagreed with OIG’s findings and disciplinary recommendation respecting one officer and permitted five of fifteen to resign or retire prior to formal action on OIG’s findings and discharge recommendations.”

— Chicago Sun-Times

Video shows Chicago officer slamming woman who had hands up 

CHICAGO (AP) — Dash-cam video shows a Chicago police officer slamming a robbery suspect to the ground after she got out of a car with her hands up.

The video was released Friday as part of an effort by Chicago’s new police chief to increase transparency and rebuild trust that was hurt by cases of excessive force, particular against African Americans.

Two officers involved in the woman’s 2011 arrest have been stripped of their police powers pending a new review.

Thirty-four-year-old Tiffani Jacobs was driving a getaway car after her boyfriend robbed a McDonald’s at gunpoint. Police say she tried to run down an officer, who then shot her twice. She continued to flee until other officers caught up with her. During the arrest, officers shocked her several times with stun guns.

 

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Rahm Backpedals on DOJ, Set to Release Another Dashcam Video

By Bill Cameron, WLS News

(CHICAGO) Mayor Rahm Emanuel has backpedaled on his earlier opposition to a federal civil rights investigation of Chicago police tactics.

On Wednesday Emanuel called a federal civil rights investigation “misguided.” But then Hillary Clinton called for one and now the mayor is for it.

“I welcome the engagement of the justice department,” Emanuel said. “We have a long road ahead of us as a city and I welcome people from many views to help us do what exactly we need to do which is why I welcomed months ago the ACLU in, why I also established, I think, a good commission to work on this issue and I welcome the justice department’s engagement in that issue.”

Emanuel acknowledged he dropped the ball.

“I own the confusion, that’s why I wanted to clarify and set the record straight.”

Listen to Bill Cameron’s report for WLS News radio:

The mayor also said next week, he will release the dashboard video of another police killing, this one of Ronald Johnson.

 

@ 2015 WLS News