After public release of a video showing a Chicago police officer fatally shoot a 17-year-old sparked protests in the Windy City over the Thanksgiving holiday, the city’s mayor has announced plans to deploy body-worn cameras that could capture future fatal encounters in even more graphic detail.
By mid-2016, the Chicago Police Department will expand use of body-worn cameras to seven of 24 police districts, according to an announcement by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy.
The technology, which is rapidly being embraced by departments across the country as a way to promote transparency and accountability, was already being tested in one Chicago police district.
“Expanding this successful program into one-third of the city will help enhance transparency and credibility as well as strengthen the fabric of trust that is vital between police and the community,” Mr. Emanuel said in a statement released Sunday.
The announcement comes on the heels of protests on Black Friday that hampered retail sales along Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. Demonstrators gathered in the bustling high-end shopping district to protest the 2014 death of Laquan McDonald, a black teenager who was shot 16 times by white officer Jason Van Dyke.
Prosecutors charged Officer Van Dyke with murder on Nov. 24, and hours later released the police dashboard camera footage that captured the shooting. Officials had for months sought to keep the video under wraps, but a judge ordered the city to release the video in response to a journalist’s request.
The shooting happened in October 2014 as officers were responding to reports that someone had broken into trucks and stolen radios. They encountered McDonald and officers saw him carrying a knife in hand.
The video shows McDonald walking down the middle of a road when police cars pull up around him and two officers emerge. He appears to be walking away from the officers when Officer Van Dyke opens fire. A gunshot hits McDonald and he spins around and falls to the ground. Officer Van Dyke, the only officer who opened fire, continues to fire at McDonald for about 14 seconds as he lies on the ground, prosecutors said.
There is no sound in the dashboard camera footage and the video veers aware from police, capturing only McDonald as the gunfire continues. Body-worn cameras are attached to an officer’s clothing or sometimes glasses or a hat, often providing a view of what the officers sees at a scene rather than a wider shot of the events unfolding.
Chicago police are expected to announce the districts where the additional cameras will be deployed in the coming days.
The current pilot program, which began in January, is testing 30 cameras in the Shakespeare District, which encompasses areas including Logan Square, Bucktown and Wicker Park. Officials said more than 745 hours of footage has been recorded during that time.
“In addition to protecting police officers and citizens, cameras have been shown to reduce citizen complaints against police and are great tools for evidence gathering and training as they allow us to learn from actual encounters with the public,” Superintendent McCarthy said.
• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
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