Videos made public of Chicago police brutality incidents
The files included video and audio recordings as well as police reports on pending investigations.
A list of Frequently Asked Questions put out by the agency explained, “The varied quality and clarity of the videos on the website reflect the varying quality and clarity of the recording devices and systems from which the videos are obtained, including dashcams, bodycams, blue-light street cameras, private security cameras and footage shot by witnesses on cellphones”.
If IPRA officials are being practical, they’ve no doubt invested in the “pro” versions of Vimeo and Soundcloud that offer unlimited data storage.
Gordon told ABC News the video showing his clients’ arrests “speaks for itself”. Then the police fire shots at his vehicle. “Holy f***”, the person recording the video says as he tries to narrate the scene unfolding before him. A second officer walks over from behind a desk. “And there’s suddenly a police officer holding a gun, pointing a gun at this individual - but I don’t see where he’s arrived from, if there was some type of exchange before”. Officer Anthony Sabella told Magsby to drop the weapon. The officers shoot him and also use an electric stun weapon; Jamison, 28, survived. A crowd began to form, and when the officer started to bring her to another squad auto, she “pulled away” and the officer thought she was fleeing, the arrest report said, so the officer “restrained her against his squad vehicle”.
All these incidents are under investigation by the Independent Police Review Authority.
The Independent Police Review Authority, a Chicago panel which investigates police misconduct cases, released the evidence on Friday.
It has sparked a widespread debate about when an officer is allowed to shoot and what it means for them to fear for their life.
Attorney Rahsaan Gordon represents Lisa Simmons and Jeremiah Smith, who sued the Chicago Police Department for brutality in a 2014 incident, after police responded to a loud block party.
The policy was recommended in a report from the mayor’s Task Force on Police Accountability, which introduced reforms in the wake of the fatal officer-involved shooting of Laquan McDonald. A video from 2012 shows officers confronting a man, Ismael Jamison, who was apparently behaving erratically and reportedly had been hitting people. None of these cases has been resolved, meaning that there has been no determination as to whether the police officers involved used excessive force or committed any other form of misconduct.
The Chicago police department Superintendent Eddie Johnson released a statement today saying today’s release demonstrates the challenges officers face every day, and, “I have often said that CPD is only as effective as the faith and trust the community has in it and I believe that this will go a long way in promoting transparency”. “Increased transparency is essential in rebuilding that trust”.
The mayor and police department had faced fierce criticism for previous resistance to releasing footage of a series of police shootings that were captured on city-owned cameras.
Emanuel announced in May that he is abolishing IPRA and replacing it with a civilian department that he said will have more independence and resources to do its work.
These releases, as well as information related to the releases are almost unprecedented.
It was one of a number of USA police killings that have sparked a national movement over policing and race.
But Calloway said there is still more to be done.