Chicago PD officers fatally shoot two minority members

[mojaveman]

Two families on the West Side were demanding answers Saturday after officers responding to a domestic disturbance shot and killed a 19-year-old engineering student and a 55-year-old mother of five.

Does anyone else here feel that Chicago might be a smoldering powder keg? Perhaps with the potential to be a little worse than either Fergeson or Baltimore?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...226-story.html

[Ramsay]

Illinois is a joke. The abundance of corruption in the state government is ridiculous. Pension crisis, outrageous taxes, and it's only getting worse. Until we kick all these politicians out of office nothing will change. Heck, they can't even come up with a budget. You can't even get your money if you win the lottery. You get an IOU!! Lol They've run the state into the ground. Sad state of affairs.

In the wake of the police shootings and videos, it seems nothing has changed other than the obligatory removal of the police superintendent. All good ole Rahm wants to do is point the finger at anyone but himself. Grab some popcorn, I'm sure 2016 will be interesting....

[Tree Potato]

One of the big issues with public perception and policing, anywhere these days, is expectation management regarding use of force and availability/suitability of non-lethal options.

The Chicago mayor is implementing a policy for 100% of patrol officers to carry tasers. I suspect there is already a policy in place where a non-lethal option is carried (OC, ASP, or taser), but due to cost of equipment or training the tasers may be in limited use.

Even on a military installation we have similar challenges. About 2/3 of my Defenders are certified to carry a taser. Having a certified trainer on station is now putting a dent in the other 1/3 that isn't yet qualified. Similarly, lawyers at the Pentagon think body cameras on our cops may be an intel collection issue in the homeland, so they're slow rolling approval. We've procured cameras already at this installation, and I'm bucking the lawyers and directing use as the cameras and gear arrive. Bureacracy cotinues to interfere with prudent evolution of how we do business.

As we roll these changes out, we're engaging our community and educating them on what is changing and why...so far we've had 100% support.

On the big city side, though, how should they effectively prep the battlefield? The public in Chicago will now expect tasers to be the default weapon of choice when a cop shows up to admonish their little angels who are doing wrong. The next cop who drops a criminal with a firearm rather than a taser is going to get tarred and feathered, even if the tactical choice was the right one. Can Chicago, or other big PDs, get ahead of this? From a QP perspective, how should they attempt to educate and sway the public? Start by educating the local journalists?

[Remington Raidr]

No. Even the bad guys are too smart for that. It's all about politics. Even for bottom dwellers it's all what can you do for me. Nobody is getting off the couch to riot unless somebody is laying down real green.