Rahm Emanuel, trained by the White House in police policy is now an expert on how to fix the Chicago Police Department. Hahaha. How many civilians will die after being tased by CPD? Will the officers be trained in how to use them? The manufacturer promotes TASERS as an alternative to deadly force. But they are used at first opportunity on pregnant women, impaired suspects all too often.
[From article]
Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Wednesday that Chicago police must be better trained to distinguish between when they can use a gun and when they should use a gun, after a series of shootings by officers sparked protests and complaints that police are too quick to fire their weapons.
Emanuel announced changes in police training and department policies on use of force during a news conference. He also said the Police Department will double the number of Tasers available to officers — from 700 to 1,400— as he works to restore public trust in the police force and his administration.
“Our police officers have a very difficult and dangerous job. They put their lives on the line so the rest of us can be safe. And like all of us, they are human and they make mistakes,” the mayor said. “Our job is to reduce the chances of mistakes.
“That requires us to give them the right guidance, the right training, and the right culture, to prevent abuses,” he said. “Willful misconduct and abuse cannot and will not be tolerated.”
[. . .]
Every police patrol car will be equipped with a Taser by June 1, 2016, he said.
[. . .]
Activists were skeptical Wednesday that the changes would reverse decades of problems and mistrust between Chicago residents and police.
[. . .]
Pearson’s organization believes the only way to bring true change is for Chicago to have a civilian police accountability council that isn’t appointed by the mayor.
“The people have no trust in the police. They have no trust in the mayor,” Pearson said. “The people in charge are continuing to give (some officers) a pass. It happens over and over and over again.”
[. . .]
In a statement issued over the weekend, Emanuel said he ordered Escalante and the city’s Independent Police Review Authority to review the department’s crisis-intervention team training. The program teaches officers how to respond to a person in crisis or with mental health problems, and is aimed at resolving incidents without violence.
http://nypost.com/2015/12/30/chicago-mayor-to-equip-police-with-tasers-after-shootings/
Chicago mayor to equip police with Tasers after shootings
New York Post
By Reuters
December 30, 2015 | 11:57am
