Chicago police to get non-lethal Tasers after spate of killings

Decision comes amid increasing concerns over a series of police shootings

A policeman fires a Taser gun. (PA)

All Chicago police officers will be equipped with non-lethal Tasers under plans announced on 30 December amid increasing concern over a series of police shootings.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama’s former chief of staff, was expected to unveil a series of new policing strategies, including issuing Tasers to all officers by June next year. Mr Emanuel ended his holiday early this week to deal with fallout from the police shootings of a 55-year-old mother and a 19-year-old college student.

Chicago police, under a federal civil rights investigation over the use of deadly force and other issues, have said the woman’s death was an accident. Meanwhile, more protests were planned in Cleveland on 30 December, two days after a grand jury decided not to charge two white police officers over the 2014 shooting death of Tamir Rice, a black 12-year-old boy who was playing in a park with a toy gun.

Tensions over race and policing in Chicago and Cleveland come amid intense scrutiny of police killings in the United States over the past 18 months, especially of black men. Protests have taken place around the country.

Mr Emanuel and Interim Police Superintendent John Escalante were due to announce a “major overhaul” in policy covering police responses and the use of physical and lethal force. “The policy changes centre around de-escalation tactics to reduce the intensity of a conflict or a potentially violent situation at the earliest possible moment, emphasising that the foremost goal is to protect the safety of all involved,” spokesman Lauren Huffman said.

Not all Chicago police officers currently have Tasers, electroshock weapons that fire dart electrodes that incapacitate but are non-lethal.

Protesters have called for Mr Emanuel’s resignation after a video was released last month showing Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke, who is white, shooting Laquan McDonald, 17, in 2014. Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to murder.

The ensuing turmoil led Mr Emanuel to sack the police superintendent and create a task force to review police accountability. While Mr Emanuel was on holiday, Bettie Jones, 55, and Quintonio LeGrier, 19, were killed on December 26 by an officer responding to a call.

Reuters