Chicago mayor: Police reforms should make force last option
Associated Press
CHICAGO
Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Wednesday that Chicago police must be better trained to distinguish between when they can use a gun and when they should use a gun, after a series of shootings by officers sparked protests and complaints that police are too quick to fire their weapons.
Emanuel announced changes in police training and department policies on use of force during a news conference, pledging “nothing less than complete and total reform.” Reforms, he said, will include doubling the number of Tasers available to officers – from 700 to 1,400 – as he works to restore public trust in Chicago’s 12,000-officer force and in his administration.
“Our police officers have a very difficult and dangerous job. They put their lives on the line so the rest of us can be safe. And like all of us, they are human and they make mistakes,” the mayor said. “Our job is to reduce the chances of mistakes.”
Emanuel pledged training to make police encounters with citizens “less confrontational and more conversational.” And he said “force can be the last option, not the first choice.”
“Just because you train that you can use force doesn’t mean you should,” he said. “And helping officers [make] that distinction – and the training that goes with it – is essential.”
Every patrol car will be equipped with a Taser by June 1, 2016, Emanuel said, though he didn’t mention cost or how the cash-strapped city will foot the bill. Tasers can cost between $500 and $1,000, potentially putting the price tag for the new stun guns at about $700,000.