Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Wednesday that more police officers will be trained and equipped with stun guns by next June, and will receive training on when to use their guns, following weeks of protests and complaints about the Chicago Police Department’s excessive use of force.
“Just because you train and can use force, doesn’t mean you should,” he said during a press conference Wednesday, flanked by Interim Chicago Police Superintendent John Escalante.
The Chicago Police Department will double the number of tasers available to officers — from 700 to 1,400, Emanuel announced. He also pledged training to make police encounters with citizens “less confrontational and more conversational,” adding that “force should be the last option and not the first choice.”
Emanuel added that public trust in Chicago police is “frayed to the point that its broken,” but that his city is not unique in this.
“Every city is going through a change in police practices, tactics and culture,” he said, adding that the police department studied other police departments around the country including New York and Seattle to shape their new policing changes.
Escalante said officers involved in shootings will be placed on desk duty for a minimum of 30 days following the incident — the current time period is 72 hours — so that the officer or officers involved will have the time to seek professional counseling and be re-trained. The 30-day minimum also allows the Independent Police Review Authority and the State’s Attorney Office more time to investigate the police-involved shooting, Escalante said.
Officers will also be encouraged to call in additional personnel during incidents, to help the Chicago Police Department reach its new goal “to change the way officers think when they approach an incident,” Escalante said.
The police department has been under scrutiny since last month’s release of a dashboard-camera video showing a white police officer shooting a black 17-year-old 16 times. The officer, Jason VanDkye, has pleaded not guilty to the shooting death of Laquan McDonald and has been released on $1.5 million bond.
Then, over the weekend, police fatally shot two people — a 19-year-old man who police said was “combative” toward officers and a 55-year-old female neighbor who police say was “accidentally” hit by gunfire — during a response to an early-morning domestic violence call.
Emanuel cut his annual family vacation short to return to Chicago to address the police-involved shootings and subsequent calls for change. He has reiterated that he will not be resigning.
