Tag Archives: mccarthy

Mayor Emanuel Fires Police Superintendent McCarthy

Dec 1, 2015 | WLS-AM Staff
Courtesy Photo; Chicago Police Department
Courtesy Photo; Chicago Police Department

 

By John Dempsey, WLS News

(CHICAGO) Embattled Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy is out, a victim of the public outcry after last week’s release of a police dashboard camera video showing white police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting 17-year old Laquon McDonald to death, firing 16 shots into the teenager’s body.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced McCarthy’s departure this morning, saying that despite many positive things McCarthy has accomplished, in light of the video’s release, “The public trust and the leadership of the department has been shaken and eroded.   This morning I formally asked for (McCarthy’s) resignation.    Now is the time for fresh eyes and new leadership to confront the challenges the department and our community and our city are facing, as we go forward”.

Emanuel says 1st Deputy Police Chief John Escalante will serve as interim Police Superintendent, until a permanent replacement for McCarthy is found.  The firing came after McCarthy went on several television morning programs including WLS-TV ABC 7, and said he would not resign in the face of the public pressure he’s been feeling.

“No, I’m not going to resign.   I’m not going to give up on this city, I’m not going to give up on the good people of Chicago, and I’m certainly not going to give up on the Chicago Police Department.  I believe absolutely that there is a very large sector of the community who supports me.   I hear it all day long, every single day.  Honestly, every place I go people are saying things like, ‘stay strong, stay tough, we’ve got your back'”.

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

Despite taking steps to modernize the department, Emanuel says Garry McCarthy “has become an issue rather than dealing with the issue, and that’s a distraction”.

Emanuel also announced the creation of a five member police task force to advise him on ways to improve the relationship with the Police Department and the community, saying “The shooting of Laquan McDonald requires more than just words,” Mayor Emanuel said. “It requires that we act; that we take more concrete steps to prevent such abuses in the future, secure the safety and the rights of all Chicagoans, and build stronger bonds of trust between our police and the communities they’re sworn to serve.”

The task force will include:

Former Federal Prosecutor Sergio Acosta.

Former Federal Prosecutor and Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson.

Former Chicago Police Deputy Superintendent and former Illinois State Police Director Hiram Grau.

Former Federal Prosecutor and Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot.

University of Chicago Law School Professor and former Cook County Public Defender Randolph Stone.

Former Massachusetts Governor and Chicago native Deval Patrick will serve as a senior advisor to the task force. Patrick also served as U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division under President Bill Clinton.

Emanuel wants the task force to present it’s recommendations to the City Council by March 31, 2016.

@ 2015 WLS News

 

Top Cop on Video Release: We’re Prepared for Demonstrations

Nov 24, 2015 | WLS-AM Staff

 

Jason VanDyke Photo courtesy of the Cook County States Attorney office.
Jason VanDyke Photo courtesy of the Cook County States Attorney office.

 

By Bill Cameron, WLS News

(CHICAGO) Now that Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke has been charged with first degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, Police Supt. Garry McCarthy says he’s preparing for the release of the dash-cam video that caught the officer allegedly shooting McDonald 16 times.

McCarthy says, “I anticipate it’s going to be busy.”

“We’re prepared for demonstrations, let’s put it that way,” McCarthy said. “As we have we’ve fine tuned our plan over the last almost five years that we’ve been here and you’ve watched it happen, you’ve watched the way that we handled it and my mantra is going to be the same one that it always is, which is really simple; we’re going to facilitate and protect people’s First Amendment right to free speech and were going to be intolerant of criminal behavior.”

Listen to Police Supt, McCarthy’s statement to Bill cameron for WLS News:

McCarthy is also reconciling his defense of acquitted detective Dante Servin last April in another police killing with his decision now to seek Servin’s dismissal. He says it’s the difference between criminal charges last April and administrative charges now.

@ 2015 WLS News

 

Top Cop: More Minority Hires Slow Going

Nov 2, 2015 | WLS-AM Staff

By Bill Cameron, WLS News

The Chicago Police Department needs more cops and this morning they’ve announced a new recruiting campaign.

This is not more cops like so many want, but merely filling vacancies in the police dept’s 12,500 count of sworn personnel. Supt. Garry McCarthy says he wants to hire more minority officers, but that’s going to take awhile.

Listen to Bill Cameron’s report for WLS news here:

“One of the reasons for that is because when you become a police officer you stay for 20 plus years and four years ago when I got here, the average age of the Chicago police officer was 44 years old,” McCarthy said. “Now that number has come down to 41, I believe it is right now, but at the end of the day, that’s progress, it’s not success. So with it we’re recruiting more and more minority individuals but it’s still not getting us to the place where we want to be and it’s going to take a long time before that dynamic changes.”

CPD has actually been criticized for too few minority officers long before the so-called Ferguson phenomenon of the more recent past.

 

@ 2015 WLS News

McCarthy: Expand use of body cameras

May 20, 2015 | WLS-AM Staff

By Bill Cameron, WLS News

(CHICAGO) Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy is expanding the use of body cameras on police officers.

Listen to Bill’s report:

McCarthy told the City Club of Chicago the good news from his pilot program is that they seem to be working.

“We’re now expanding it and what I find fascinating in the first 90 days of this program, we don’t have one good video to show anybody where you say ‘this is the reason why we need body cams,’” McCarthy said to laughs. “You know, we’re laughing, but that’s obviously a good thing because it’s my contention that everyone acts better when they’re on film.”

McCarthy updated his body cam policy at the City Club where he was talking up his community policing outreach.

@ Copyright 2015 WLS News

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