Chicago’s Top Cop: All Officers Now Trained To Use Stun Guns

Chicago’s Top Cop: All Officers Now Trained To Use Stun Guns

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CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago’s police superintendent says all officers who respond to calls now have had training in using stun guns.

A department statement says Superintendent Eddie Johnson also told the City Club of Chicago on Tuesday that an ongoing body-camera program is expanding.

Tasers became an issue amid 2015 protests about video showing a white officer fatally shooting Laquan McDonald as the black teenager walked away from officers. Some officers had repeatedly requested Tasers before the shooting.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced on Dec. 30 that the number of Tasers for officers would double and the numbers of officers with Taser training would increase. At the time, around 15 percent of officers had Taser training.

Johnson says Tasers and body cameras are part of an effort “to restore public trust and accountability.” Read the press release here.