Emanuel fires Chicago police chief

{mosads}Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) announced McCarthy’s firing during a press conference Tuesday, where he also unveiled a new task force on policing.

 

“This morning, I formally asked for his resignation,” Emanuel said, explaining that he started speaking with McCarthy on Sunday amid public backlash related to the Laquan McDonald shooting and after arrests in the case of Tyshawn Lee, a 9-year-old killed in November in an alley.

“I am grateful for his service to this city,” Emanuel said. “But now is the time for fresh eyes and new leadership” to confront the challenges facing Chicago.

 

“He has become an issue rather than dealing with the issue,” Emanuel said, also praising reductions in crime during McCarthy’s tenure. “But we must get to that confidence and trust to build what I think is necessary for a solution.”

 

Emanuel said he would set up a five-person task force to look at cases of excessive force, develop an “early warning system” to help track “problem officers” and improve transparency for the police department.

“Every day we must ensure that the checks and balances are in place to keep the confidence of Chicagoans — in their public safety and in the people that are entrusted with that responsibility,” Emanuel said.

The Chicago mayor suggested the three-part approach — firing McCarthy, expanding the use of police body cameras and establishing the task force — was the first step to regaining public trust.

“This is not the end of the problem, but it is the beginning of the solution to the problem,” Emanuel said.

Hours earlier on Tuesday, during a radio interview cited by the Chicago Tribune, McCarthy indicated he wasn’t going anywhere.

“How am I? I’m a little busy and a little bit stressed out, but staying the course,” he said on WGN-AM while talking about the McDonald shooting.

Emanuel tapped McCarthy to lead the police department in 2011.

 

Both men have faced intense scrutiny surrounding the death of McDonald, a 17-year-old who was shot 16 times in October 2014. The officer involved in the shooting was charged last week with first-degree murder as dashboard camera footage of the shooting was released.