On the morning of Friday, January 13, the US Justice Department released a 164 page report which concludes Chicago police are trained poorly and use excessive force, sometimes lethal, mostly targeted towards minorities, all of this without facing consequences. This report was started following the killing of Laquan McDonald by Chicago Police officer, Jason Van Dyke, in October, 2014.

 

Van Dyke was charged with first degree murder and initially was held without bail, but in November of 2014 was released while the city of Chicago settled with McDonald’s family. This sparked riots all throughout the city for weeks and shortly after the Department of Justice started their report.

 

“The incidents described in this report are sobering to all of us,” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in the press conference following the report being released. “Police misconduct will not be tolerated anywhere in the city of Chicago, and those who break the rules will be held accountable for their actions. Misconduct not only harms the individuals affected, it damages the reputation of the Chicago Police Department.”

 

With murders at a 20 year high for the city and civilian-police relations turning sour many times over the last years, this report comes as no surprise to some in the Chicago community. Some events captured in the report were the repeated tasering of a naked, unarmed, 65-year-old woman and Chicago Police dropping young gang members in rival territory on purpose.

 

“Most of these events are sickening,” senior Michael Maloney said. “I had already heard about the more public acts of police violence, but the fact that there are so many more is alarming. The police, especially in Chicago needs reform desperately to ensure the safety of the people and to justly enforce laws.”

 

The report found that the improper ethics and tendencies of police are rooted in the police academy, stating that only about one in six Chicago Police officers could explain the boundaries of legal force when interviewed.

 

The use of excessive force was even more prominent among minority communities, confirming suspicions that many Chicagoans have had for decades. Statistics show that the CPD uses excessive force on blacks 10 times more than whites.

 

“It is unbelievable that things like this are still happening,” senior Max Tubbs said. “We’re told to believe that we live in a different era and that racism and police violence are left in the past. It is apparent that both are still out there and we need to come together as a whole community to stop it.”

 

The future of police violence in unclear as Barack Obama’s administration ends on Friday. Many people are unsure that Donald Trump’s administration will deal with violence and racism in the way that the former did.

 

Use of excessive force by police is a direct breach of the 4th Amendment. This has split many on what the outcome for officials and officers of the CPD should be. They have committed to changing their training and combatting the use of unwarranted force but some think that a full cleanse of the department is necessary.

 

Whatever the outcome of those employed, the CPD has trampled the constitutional rights of the people they are supposed to protect for decades and change needs to be made.