Chicago mayor says every police officer to be equipped with Taser
In a move to overhaul police policy in the US city of Chicago, every officer will be trained and armed with a Taser by June.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the expanded use of Taser on Wednesday, saying the number of Tasers will double to 1,400.
"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," he said. "Our job is to reduce the chances of mistakes."
The Chicago Police Department has come under intense criticism since the release last month of graphic footage of the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
The video shows Officer Jason Van Dyke firing at McDonald 16 times for at least 15 seconds, even after the black teen falls to the ground. Van Dyke, however, pleaded not guilty at a court on Tuesday.
Mayor Emanuel has faced growing calls for resignation during near daily protests in the city since last month.
The pressures grew over the weekend after police killed two other people, including a 55-year-old black woman. Police said Betty Jones was killed by accident.
Officers also fatally shot 19-year-ol Quintonio LeGrier, a college student with mental health problems.
Interim Police Superintendent John Escalante called the shootings a "tragic accident," but noted that the Independent Police Review Authority was still investigating.
Escalante said he didn't know if changes, underway in the department, would have resulted in a different outcome that day.
“Our goal is to change the way officers think when they approach an incident,” he said. “That might include calling other officers to the scene.”
Chicago police has long been under fire over what critics describe as a police culture of "shoot first and ask questions later."
Fatal shootings and other forms of violence by the US police against people of color have sparked mass protests across the country over the past two years.
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