Shifting Gears Again, Mayor Calls For 'Third-Party' Probe Of Law Department
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two days after saying it would be unnecessary for the U.S. Justice Department to add the city's Law Department to its probe of the Police Department's use of force, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said his administration would order a "third-party" review of the agency, in the wake of a judge ruling a city attorney hid evidence in the case of a fatal police shooting.
On Tuesday, Emanuel said it was "not possible" the city's Law Department was part of a "code of silence" he has acknowledged exists in the Police Department, and said the Law Department should not be included in a federal civil rights probe of excessive force by Chicago police officers.
On Thursday, the mayor shifted gears, and said Corporation Counsel Steve Patton soon will announce plans to bring in a third party to look at the Law Department.
The move comes after a top city attorney, Jordan Marsh, resigned in disgrace, after U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang sanctioned the city and ordered a new trial over a fatal 2011 police shooting, because Marsh had intentionally withheld an audio recording about the shooting of Darius Pinex. and then lied about doing it.
"What that lawyer did was unacceptable, and he's gone," Emanuel said Thursday.
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The mayor also said he would cooperate with the Justice Department if it expands its probe of excessive force by Chicago police to include the Law Department.
"I, as mayor, don't direct the Justice Department. If they choose, we're going to cooperate," he said.
The mayor did not offer details on who would conduct the "third-party" probe of the Law Department, including whether they would look at past police misconduct cases handled by city attorneys.
"They're going to bring in a third party to look at that division, create standards, and make sure that the standards are clear as it relates to professional standards, and to have the training that goes with that," the mayor said. "That's what will happen, because it's essential for people's confidence."
It's the latest example of Emanuel pivoting on questions of police misconduct, after facing criticism tied to the Laquan McDonald police shooting video, which was kept under wraps for more than a year. The mayor initially called the shooting the action of one rogue officer, but has since acknowledged the need for a major overhaul of training at the Police Department. He stood by former Supt. Garry McCarthy for days after the McDonald video was released, only to later force him out; and initially called a federal probe of the Police Department "misguided" before saying he welcomed it.
The mayor has faced repeated calls to resign over his handling of the McDonald case, but has said he isn't going anywhere.
