Newly-Released Files Show Chicago Police Officers Punching, Choking, Shooting Citizens

The city has released hundreds of files, including audio and video, on Chicago police shootings, in what its touting as an unprecedented move toward transparency Friday morning [June 3, 2016].

"The policy we are implementing today is a major step forward to promote transparency, and it makes us one of the leading cities in America to guarantee timely public access to this breadth of information involving sensitive police incidents," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel in a statement. "It is important to remember the thousands of hard-working men and women who quietly do dangerous and difficult work to keep us safe each and every day."

The trove of data on times that Chicago police officers discharged their guns comes half a year after the release of a harrowing video showing a cop fatally shoot black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times. The video release fueled citywide pushes for more transparency from the Chicago Police Department and prompted a federal Department of Justice investigation into CPD. It also prompted the firing of ex-police chief Garry McCarthy.

The 101 files can be accessed in a new data portal shared online by the Independent Police Review Authority Friday morning. The IPRA, the organization tasked with reviewing incidents in which police shot someone and other possible incidents of police misconduct, was overhauled late last year on the heels of the outcry over McDonald's shooting. Many believe that Chicago police officers, members of the police union and City Hall employees attempted to cover up the disturbing October 2014 shooting, which would explain why the cop who shot McDonald was not charged for murder until over a year after the fact.

http://chicagoist.com/2016/06/03/the_city_has_released_hundreds_of_f.php