CHICAGO (AP) - The Chicago Police Board on Wednesday named three finalists for the police superintendent post currently held on an interim basis by former Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck.
The board submitted Chicago Deputy Chief Ernest Cato, Aurora, Illinois Police Chief Kristen Ziman and former Dallas police chief David Brown to Mayor Lori Lightfoot for consideration.
The three finalists were chosen from a pool of 25 applicants, according to the police board. Eleven of them currently in the Chicago Police Department or have experience in the department. The other 14 applicants were from outside of Chicago. Lightfoot could reject the three nominees and ask for more suggestions or ignore them and give the job to someone of her own choosing as predecessor Rahm Emanuel did - appointing Eddie Johnson - which she criticized when she headed the police board.
“At no time in its history has the Chicago Police Department faced greater challenges, and finding the best possible leader is of the utmost importance,’’ said police board president Ghian Foreman.
The person chosen as superintendent will head a department that continues to deal with the fallout from the 2014 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by white officer Jason Van Dyke. Van Dyke is serving a six-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2018 of murder.
The U.S. Justice Department has found the Chicago Police Department has a long history of racial bias and excessive force by officers. That led to changes to how officers are investigated for wrongdoing and the implementation of a federal consent decree that calls for more community policing, better officer training and a requirement that officer fill out paperwork every time they point a gun at someone, even if they don’t fire.
The superintendent post became vacant in December when Lightfoot fired Eddie Johnson. She said Johnson lied about an October drinking-and-driving incident.
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