The Justice Department, under former President Barack Obama, found deep-rooted civil rights violations by Chicago police, including racial bias and the use of excessive force.
EMBED MORE NEWS VIDEOS
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson say they'll release a draft consent decree Friday afternoon.
In a Friday morning press conference announcing the hiring of more officers, Emanuel and Johnson seemed prepared for what's to come. They said police reforms have already started.
"Every officer, a year ahead of schedule, has a body camera. You've seen how important that is in recent times. Every officer has a Taser and (is) trained appropriately with it. Every officer is receiving the training on de-escalation. Also the reflections of the difference between a mental health call and a crime call, or a violence call. We did not wait and let the grass grow under our feet when it came to reform," the mayor said.
"The mayor and myself made a commitment to you all a couple of years ago that we would reform the way the Chicago police did business. The thing that you all have to really recognize about this whole thing is we didn't wait for a piece of paper to tell us what to do. We started this two years ago. So a lot of what you are going to see are things that are already in place," the police superintendent said.
Once there is a consent decree, there would be a period of public comment. After that, there could be some modifications. Then it would be presented to a federal judge overseeing the process for final approval.
Madigan, Emanuel and Johnson will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. Friday at the Thompson Center to announce the release of the draft consent decree.
