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              Chicago Police Release Records on Violent Incidents

   by Marissa Melton

   The Chicago police force has responded to months of controversy over
   allegations that the city's police are using excessive force by
   releasing dashboard-camera videos and other materials from 101 police
   cases in which civilians were injured at the hands of police officers.

   The move by the city's Independent Police Review Authority was a
   turnaround for the city government that fought for nearly a year not to
   release a video showing an officer killing a teenager in 2014 by
   shooting him 16 times while the teen lay on the ground.

   The IPRA investigates allegations of police misconduct and excessive
   force, in hopes of addressing tensions between Chicago's civilian
   residents and its police. It evolved in the fallout from the Laquan
   McDonald case, in which the white police officer, Jason Van Dyke, was
   eventually charged with murder for the death of McDonald, who was
   black.

   The city fought for a year to keep the video private, citing an ongoing
   investigation. When the video was released last November, violence
   surged in the city.

   Shootings have risen by 50 percent for the year, and some 230 people
   have been killed. Analysts say civilians have grown to distrust the
   police, and have become reluctant to provide information that could aid
   an investigation.

   In a radical change from the city's earlier policy not to release
   materials from ongoing investigations, the head of the IPRA, Chief
   Administrator Sharon Fairley, said evidence will be provided within 60
   to 90 days of an incident.

   "Timeliness has plagued this agency" in the past, she said, but also
   cautioned that videos and other materials released may not necessarily
   give a full picture of what happened.

   Improving transparency

   The 101 cases in Friday's release include every open investigation into
   officer-involved shootings, whether or not anyone was hit, and every
   case in which a civilian was seriously injured or killed, according to
   the review board.

   Fairley said the release is meant to help restore trust in the police
   force.

   In March, the state's attorney for Cook County, who waited 13 months to
   prosecute Van Dyke in the Laquan McDonald case, was voted out of
   office. In April, a mayor-appointed task force investigating the police
   department said racism has long contributed to a pattern of failures by
   the department.

   The report by the Chicago Police Accountability Task Force said in its
   April report that police in Chicago have "no regard for the sanctity of
   life when it comes to people of color."

   National debate

   Chicago's problems put the city at the center of a national debate on
   whether police officers unfairly target people of color.

   A U.S. Justice Department survey found last year that there is no
   national standard for the way local police departments track use of
   force, making any data on the subject difficult to use for policy
   making. Some large cities refused to provide data at all.

   Some cities are embracing a trend toward peaceful resolution of
   conflicts by offering more training to officers. Others reward police
   for handling violent situations without use of physical force.

   In Philadelphia, which has a reputation for street violence and tough
   officers, more than 40 police officers have received awards in the past
   six months for defusing conflicts without using maximum force, such as
   shooting or striking anyone.

   In Los Angeles, police can be awarded a Preservation of Life medal for
   using restraint while resolving dangerous incidents. The U.S. Justice
   Department plans to institute a community policing award later this
   year to reward officers who manage to deescalate tense situations
   without violence.

   But the new trend has its critics.

   In Chicago, the union Fraternal Order of Police has spoken out against
   the release of the police records, calling the move "irresponsible."
   And in L.A., the police union has called the Preservation of Life award
   "a terrible idea that will put officers in even more danger."
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/chicago-us-releases-records-violent-i
   ncidents-police/3361508.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/chicago-us-releases-records-violent-incidents-police/3361508.html