LAQUAN MCDONALD

The white Chicago police officer convicted in the 2014 shooting death of Black teenager Laquan McDonald is days away from walking out of prison after just over three years behind bars.

Former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke will be released from prison on Feb. 3, according to reports.

A suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she confused her handgun for a Taser was led away in handcuffs Thursday after a jury found her guilty of manslaughter in the death of Black motorist Daunte Wright.

The votes had been delayed by political maneuvering by Sen. Ted Cruz over a controversial pipeline in Europe. Emanuel's nomination as ambassador to Japan was among 41 nominations approved overnight.

“Black Lives Matter. Here in the halls of Congress, it is important that we not just speak and believe these words, but put them into action in the decisions we make,” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said in a statement opposing the nomination.

The fatal police shooting of a Black teen in Chicago seven years ago is looming large over former Mayor Rahm Emanuel as he hopes to win Senate confirmation as ambassador to Japan.

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he did nothing improper but still fell short in his handling of the fatal police shooting of a Black teenage seven years ago in the city.

Acknowledging it has lagged behind deadlines set as part of a court-ordered consent decree, the Chicago Police Department said in a report Wednesday it has reworked its process for implementing reforms.

President Joe Biden is nominating former senior State Department official Nicholas Burns to serve as his ambassador to China and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to serve as his envoy to Japan.

Despite deal, activists had few kind words for Mayor Lori Lightfoot: "It wasn’t the mayor .... who led this work."

"Absurd and dangerous and reckless" was the police union president's take.

Chicago police Superintendent David Brown announced Friday morning that the department will focus on community policing by expanding its civil rights unit and adding in several new initiatives.

Chicago's police superintendent announced Friday that all facets of the department — from patrol officers to executive staff — will be more engaged with the community in an effort to build trust and drive down crime. “Arguably, this will be the most significant commitment of effort, resources and leadership to building trust in Chicago PD's history,” Police Superintendent David Brown told reporters. “This plan that we're rolling out today is the best way to reduce crime in Chicago.”

Derek Chauvin may get sentenced to decades behind bars when he returns to a Minneapolis courtroom for sentencing.

President Joe Biden is expected to nominate former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Japan.

Moments after former officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder in George Floyd’s death, copies of the original Minneapolis police statement began recirculating on social media.

The conviction of ex-cop Derek Chauvin for murdering George Floyd nearly a year ago allowed many Black Americans across Minnesota and the nation to exhale pent-up anxiety and inhale a sense of hope.

Calls have grown for federal investigations into police killings across the nation since President Joe Biden took office and said he believes racial disparities in policing must change.

Calls have grown for federal investigations into police killings across the nation since President Joe Biden took office and said he believes racial disparities in policing must change.

Viewers reacted with a mix of outrage and grief to newly released bodycam video that shows a Chicago police officer fatally shoot a 13-year-old less than a second after the boy dropped a handgun, turned toward the officer and began raising his hands.

Disturbing bodycam video shows a 13-year-old boy appearing to drop a handgun and begin raising his hands less than a second before a Chicago police officer shoots and kills him.

The huge task for jurors at the trial of Chauvin showed during jury selection as some would-be jurors said they were unnerved by the very thought of being on the panel. A high fence installed around the courthouse for the trial is a daily reminder for jurors of security concerns. Numerous people expressed unease about serving on the panel for Chauvin's trial during the more than two weeks of jury selection. All the Chauvin jurors were asked before being impaneled if they could set aside outside influences and decide the case only on evidence presented at trial. AdAlan Tuerkheimer, a Chicago-based jury consultant, said he believed the Chauvin jurors would become increasingly calm as the trial proceeds and would be able to block out the hubbub.

African Americans bring “an institutional memory of the police” to jury rooms that whites and even other people of color don’t share, he said. AdDerek Chauvin is charged with murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death May 25. When they do, recent history suggests a more diverse jury increases the odds for conviction, although the record is mixed. During questioning for Chauvin's jury, some people in the pool were strikingly direct about how the color of their skin affected their view of Floyd's death. A Black man in his 30s who immigrated to America more than 14 years ago said he talked with his wife about the case.

FILE - In this April 29, 2019 file photo, then Democratic presidential candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg, from South Bend, Indiana, listens during a lunch meeting with civil rights leader Rev. President-elect Joe Biden is expected to pick former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg to head the transportation department. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, Pool)President-elect Joe Biden nominated his former rival Pete Buttigieg as secretary of transportation on Tuesday and intends to choose former Michigan Gov. All three will be central to Biden’s plan to remake the country’s automobiles and transportation systems to quickly cut climate-damaging petroleum emissions. Biden’s plan includes overhauling the nation’s transportation and power sectors and buildings to eliminate fossil fuel emissions by 2050.

Increasingly deep into the process of selecting Cabinet members and other senior staff, the incoming Biden administration has a distinctly Obama feel. There's Denis McDonough, former President Barack Obama's chief of staff who Biden announced on Thursday would be nominated as the secretary of veterans affairs. Susan Rice, Obama's former national security adviser, was named the director of Biden's White House Domestic Policy Council. Jeff Zients, who did stints as acting Office of Management and Budget director and a top economic adviser in the Obama White House, will return as Biden’s coronavirus response coordinator. They're pressing Biden to focus in particular on the diversity of his Cabinet after several early picks were white men.

WASHINGTON – Rahm Emanuel’s chances of landing a top Cabinet post in Joe Biden's administration appear increasingly unlikely after the former Chicago mayor emerged as a source of controversy for the president-elect, who had been considering Emanuel for transportation secretary, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Al Sharpton raised similar concerns during a meeting with Biden and other civil rights leaders, the person said. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss private deliberations and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity. An announcement on transportation secretary is not believed to be imminent. Two other high profile Obama-era alumni were announced Thursday as joining the Biden administration — Denis McDonough as veterans' affairs secretary and Susan Rice to head the Domestic Policy Council.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden is set to nominate Katherine Tai to be the top U.S. trade envoy, according to two people familiar with his plans. Biden's selection of Tai, who is Asian American, reflects his promise to choose a diverse Cabinet that reflects the makeup of the country. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Tai earlier oversaw China trade enforcement for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, setting U.S. strategy in trade disputes with China. Biden’s trade representative will inherit a trade war with China, put on pause by an interim trade pact in January that left many of the hardest issues unresolved and U.S. taxes remaining on $360 billion in Chinese imports. As the top trade staffer at Ways and Means, Tai handled negotiations last year with the Trump administration over a revamped North American trade deal.

CHICAGO – President-elect Joe Biden is considering former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a substantial and somewhat divisive figure in Democratic Party politics, to serve as his transportation secretary. Progressive leaders, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, have been especially vocal in criticizing the prospect of Emanuel joining the Cabinet. “The administration needs people like Rahm who know how to get things done.”Some of the city’s Black elected officials are also vouching for him. Emanuel said he did not see the grisly video until it was set to be made public in November 2015. During his time as mayor, Chicago saw $11 billion in airfield, terminal and infrastructure investments at the city's airports.

“CPD’s documentation of these incidents is often insufficient to determine whether the force was necessary, appropriate, or lawful,” reads a 2017 report from the U.S. Department of Justice that investigated the Chicago Police Department in the wake of the shooting of teenager Laquan McDonald. "Consequently, all we know are the broad contours of terribly sad events — that officers used force against people in crisis who needed help.”

Authorities have been reluctant to release even the most basic information about the incident or details about the white officer who shot Blake seven times in the back. They shot my son seven times seven times, like he didnt matter, Blakes father, Jacob Blake Sr., said. In 2014, for example, a union spokesman rushed to the scene where a white Chicago officer fatally shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. As for the shooting itself, authorities, citing the need to protect the integrity of the investigation, have raised far more questions than they've answered. Instead, he said a knife was found after the shooting on the drivers side floorboard of the SUV.

Authorities have said they found a gun at the scene, but they acknowledge that the officers who shot him were not wearing cameras. After Allen was shot on Sunday, activists immediately seized on the news that the officers were not wearing body cameras. These details are uncorroborated, partially because CPD also claims there is no body camera footage available for this interaction, the group said. Questions about the lack of body cameras extend beyond activist groups. Chicago police have also used body camera footage to show that officers acted properly, possibly heading off the kind of rampage that unfolded this week.

A police officer engages with a protester Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Seattle, where streets had been blocked off in an area demonstrators had occupied for weeks. Seattle police showed up in force earlier in the day at the "occupied" protest zone, tore down demonstrators' tents and used bicycles to herd the protesters after the mayor ordered the area cleared following two fatal shootings in less than two weeks. The "Capitol Hill Occupied Protest" zone was set up near downtown following the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Collective bargaining agreements for officers provide protections that stand in the way of accountability, even when the federal government is overseeing an agency through a consent decree, experts said. Contracts designed to ensure officers receive fair wages and benefits have spilled over into public policy. These examples bolster the hypothesis that some union contract provisions may impede effective investigations of police misconduct and shield problematic officers from discipline, Rushin said. The city entered into a settlement agreement, or consent decree, the following year and passed an accountability measure for additional oversight. One Seattle officer who benefited from the union contract in recent years was Cynthia Whitlach.

Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, right, speaks during a news conference Monday, June 15, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. Warren announced his decision not to prosecute dozens of protesters arrested on charges of unlawful assembly during a Black Lives Matter march on June 2. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)TOP OF THE HOUR: Florida state attorney won't prosecute peaceful protesters. State Attorney Andrew Warren in Tampa said that his office wont be filing charges against 67 protesters who were arrested two weeks ago in downtown Tampa. The prosecutors office will also work to expunge the arrest records of the protesters who were taken into custody, he said. In these unlawful assembly cases, there is no value in filing charges, Warren said at a news conference.

Cellphone video showed him pleading for air as other officers stood by and bystanders urged the police to help him. The department realized the statement was inaccurate hours later when the bystander video surfaced, and immediately requested an FBI investigation, he said. But more than a year later, video was released showing that McDonald was veering away when he was shot by officer Jason Van Dyke, who was later convicted of second-degree murder. False public statements made by police departments and their leaders are more of a political issue" than a legal one, he said. The availability of video and a fast-moving news cycle accelerated by social media have put extra pressure on police department public information officers.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, people gathered in a spot where white mobs killed hundreds of blacks a century ago and chanted the name of Terence Crutcher. Terence Crutcher was fatally shot in 2016 by a white police officer, Betty Shelby, who was later acquitted of manslaughter. The shooting remains under investigation, and Ramos' mom, Brenda Ramos, questioned why the officer who shot him hasn't been arrested or at least suspended. Now I am in this terrible heartbreaking club," Ramos' mom, Brenda Ramos, told reporters over the weekend. Andrew Cuomo posted a slide with the names of many black men killed or abused by police in cities around the nation.

Van Dyke was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison in January following his conviction of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm. Van Dyke fired seconds after arriving on scene and took 15 seconds to fire 16 shots. Van Dyke continued to fire, unloading every round from his 9-mm Smith & Wesson handgun. They included police claims that McDonald pointed his knife at Van Dyke, who was forced to backpedal and fired to stop an imminent threat. The deputy chief also falsely said in Van Dyke's tactical response report that McDonald "continued to approach" the officer.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has promised to "shine a light" on police misconduct and voiced concerns that withholding the Inspector General's office reports "only generates mistrust." The City Council unanimously passed an ordinance last month overruling city laws that required the law department to keep the Inspector General's office reports confidential. Furthermore, the Chicago Tribune wrote stories after obtaining thousands of pages of the Inspector General's office reports when they were still confidential, highlighting how high-ranking members of the department determined the shooting was justified after watching the video. The report concluded that the Inspector General's office would have recommended his firing, had he not retired in 2016. The union said inspector general's investigations are often a "political witch hunt of our members."

The Chicago Police Board on Thursday fired four police officers for allegedly covering up a white officer's 2014 fatal shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald . Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson in 2016 accused the officers of either giving or approving knowingly false statements. A Cook County judge acquitted three other officers in January of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and official misconduct charges in the case. Prosecutors said they lied to shield Van Dyke from prosecution. Illinois' Supreme Court denied a bid by the state's attorney general and a special prosecutor to resentence Van Dyke.

Chicago -- The Chicago Police Board on Thursday fired four police officers for allegedly covering up a white officer's 2014 fatal shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald. The nine-member board found the officers exaggerated the threat posed by the 17-year-old McDonald to justify his shooting by Jason Van Dyke. Franko was accused of approving false police reports that McDonald attempted to stab Van Dyke and another officer and had in fact injured Van Dyke. Illinois' Supreme Court denied a bid by the state's attorney general and a special prosecutor to resentence Van Dyke. Absent a new sentence and with credit for good behavior, Van Dyke will likely serve around three years of his nearly seven year sentence.

Four Chicago police officers have been fired for covering up the 2014 fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald, a black teenager, the Chicago Police Board said Thursday. Stephen Franko, Officer Janet Mondragon, Officer Daphne Sebastian and Officer Ricardo Viramontes to be "discharged from the Chicago Police Department." "Indeed, taken on their face, the officers' accounts depict a scene in which Mr. McDonald was the aggressor and Officer Van Dyke the victima depiction squarely contradicted by reality. Police initially said McDonald lunged toward officers with a knife, prompting Van Dyke to open fire six seconds after getting out of his squad car. Last year, Van Dyke was convicted of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery.

The Chicago police officer who was recorded shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges. CBSN's Contessa Brewer reports.

Not satisfied with a police officer's indictment in the fatal shooting of teenager Laquan McDonald or the resignation of Police Supertintendent Gary McCarthy, Chicago protestors turned their focus to Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Dean Reynolds reports from Chicago.

Chicago is on edge after police shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald to death. A group of retired police officers is challenging Mayor Rahm Emanuel, asking if he's truly doing all he can to repair trust in the community. Civil rights attorney Ashleigh Merchant joins CBSN with legal analysis.

The Illinois attorney general is asking the Justice Department to investigate the Chicago police department. Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy was forced to resign Tuesday following the release of a dash cam video showing black teenager Laquan McDonald being shot 16 times by a white officer. The officer is being charged with murder. Dean Reynolds reports.

Demonstrators organized rallies and blocked traffic Tuesday night in mostly-peaceful protests over video showing the shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. Dashcam video from last year shows officer Jason Van Dyke shooting the teen 16 times. Dyke is being held without bail and faces first-degree murder charges. Dean Reynolds reports.

Chicago releases graphic police dashcam video of a white officer shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times. A warning, this video may be hard to watch. CBSN's Contessa Brewer reports.