By John Gregory/Illinois Radio Network
CHICAGO – The state’s top lawyer is asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Chicago police department practices.
In a letter to the U.S. Attorney General, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said there are “serious questions about the historic, systemic use of unlawful and excessive force by Chicago police” that should be addressed by the federal department’s Civil Rights Division.
The video showing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald being killed by a Chicago police officer is among her reasons for calling for a federal probe. The letter mentions several other incidents from the past several years, including several officers who were kept on the force and even promoted despite dozens of civilian complaints against them.
Madigan feels the Department of Justice can provide a truly independent investigation into the Chicago Police Department to determine whether there are widespread violations of federal law and the Constitution.
“They can put in place a monitor of some sort, they can require changes to be made,” Madigan said. “I think there is broad recognition that trust in the Chicago police department is broken, certainly in our communities of color.”
Madigan said this is separate from any ongoing criminal investigation into the department surrounding the McDonald shooting, referring to it as “pattern and practice investigation” similar to probes of police departments in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore.
While Madigan’s letter refers to the killing of McDonald as “shocking,” she isn’t offering her own thoughts on whether the 13-month wait between the shooting and the indictment of officer Jason Van Dyke was appropriate.
“I think it remains to be seen,” Madigan said. “There’s a lot more information that people are waiting to find out about in terms of the timing, and so, at this point, I don’t have all the facts and so I’m going to opine for you.”
The outrage to the video’s release has led to Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy being dismissed and calls for Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to resign.
