2015 came to a close in Chicago as embattled Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel unveiled his new plans for all tactical situations (according to NPR ) before a horde of local media. Pleasant news for Chicagoans who are beginning to show a true mistrust for the entity that is in control of most tactical situations, the Chicago Police Department. The climate in Chicago is cold during the start of the new year. That goes for the temperature and the feelings between Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the CPD.
Emanuel’s plan, which includes arming all of the city’s officers with tasers, is aimed at improving the community relations between the police department and the citizens which they swore to serve and protect. This comes in the wake of Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke getting charged with the murder of LaQuan McDonald. It was the video which showed the 17-year-old being shot by Officer Van Dyke that made national headlines. What ensued was a series of protests, rallies, and calls for Rahm Emanuel’s job.
The plans by Rahm Emanuel has been in the works since the shakeup at the top of the Chicago Police Department began in response to the video of the LaQuan McDonald shooting. With just over two weeks remaining in 2015, another shooting by the CPD took place.
The recent news with yet another death by the hands of the Chicago Police Department meant that Mayor Emanuel’s ideas are too little, too late?
In a cruel twist, Rahm Emanuel’s plans consist of a new way to train police officers in regards to how they are to go about handling crisis situations. Mayor Emanuel’s announcement came after he cut his family vacation to Cuba short.
While Emanuel was on vacation, some would suggest an ill-timed hiatus, the lives of 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier and Bettie Jones were lost after officers from the Chicago Police Department opened fired during a domestic disturbance call.
According to the Chicago Tribune report, LeGrier was shot and killed by the police after he was seen as threatening while yielding a baseball bat. Jones, a mother of five, was accidentally killed. She was 55.
The lives of LaQuan McDonald, Quintonio LeGrier, and Bettie Jones, along with countless others, cannot be replaced. Better measures should have been in place before they were killed.
There is a section of people who believe that McDonald, LeGrier, and Jones, all black, were all products of their environment. While people spend many of their days trying to get inside of the minds of the San Bernardino killers, or the man who murdered three people in Colorado, there needs to be more done for the victims of police violence. What has happened in Chicago, Ferguson, Baltimore, and other cities require tireless prevention.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Announces Further Police Reforms https://t.co/uZnIVVhqss
— NPR (@NPR) December 30, 2015
What Rahm Emanuel is attempting to do is offer some ideas to prevent what has happened in Chicago from happening again, just in time for 2016 to hit. He has had over a month to concoct some innovative ideas that will keep Chicagoans from remaining blood-thirsty for his job.
The idea to retrain Chicago Police officers in tactical situations is long overdue. As is the request that all officers have tasers. It must be pointed out that in Chicago, officers typically do not get involved in domestic disturbances in which Quintonio LeGrier was suspected of being a party to. Usually, officers would talk to the suspects and victims, take notes, and then get a determination of whether they should pursue an arrest or not. If the officers decide not to pursue any charges, they will at least play the role of peacemaker until everyone involved is satisfied with the outcome.
The case of Quintonio LeGrier suggests a lot more than poor training from the officers who were on the scene. It shows the lack of patience and foresight that from the police. It also suggests that they were scared. And because of that, they are now on notice.
Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel is also on notice, which is why his new plan was rolled out just before the calendar changed over to 2016. Mayor Emanuel’s plan to retrain his police force and equip them with tasers, which should have come after the LaQuan McDonald shooting is too little, too late.
[Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images News]