CHICAGO (AP) — The U.S. attorney in Chicago says the federal civil rights investigation of the Chicago Police Department sparked by the Laquan McDonald scandal is the largest ever undertaken by the Justice Department and is proceeding at a “record pace.”
In speech Monday, U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon said investigators are analyzing data, interviewing hundreds of people, conducting ride-alongs with officers and studying police policies across the board.
Fardon wouldn’t say when the investigation would conclude, but he said everyone is “proceeding with a sense of urgency.”
Fardon also said the release of video of a white police officer fatally shooting the 17-year-old McDonald has exacerbated the level of bloodshed in Chicago. He said there has been a hit on Chicago Police Department morale and a drag on officers’ willingness to conduct stops.
