Chicago releases videos showing police-related incidents

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago agency that investigates police misconduct cases released more than 300 video clips Friday – along with audio recordings and police reports – from 101 incidents it has investigated, the latest step by the city to restore public trust in its beleaguered police force.

The Independent Police Review Authority, which also investigates any instance of an officer firing a gun in a manner that could injure someone, posted the material to its website. The video was captured by police dashcams and bodycams as well as surveillance cameras and bystanders recording on cellphones.

One video shows an officer slamming a woman face-first into the hood of a car during a party in a West Side neighborhood in July 2014. The city recently agreed to pay the woman $50,000 in a settlement. Another shows officers firing into a van and killing a man suspected of robbing an electronics store. Authorities say he struck an officer with the van.

Releasing records related to open investigations is nearly unprecedented in a city where the police department for decades had a reputation for secrecy. City Hall waited until last November, following a judge's order, to make public video from more than a year earlier showing a white police officer fatally shooting a black 17-year-old.

"These past few months, as the city has struggled with so many questions about policing and about police accountability, it has been clear that we all agree that there's a lack of trust and that increased transparency is essential to rebuilding that trust," IPRA Chief Administrator Sharon Fairley told reporters today. "Today represents an important first step toward that end."

There was no initial indication that any of the footage was as explosive as the October 2014 dashcam video showing the death of Laquan McDonald, who was shot 16 times.