CHICAGO (AP) -The U.S. Justice Department is expected to announce this week a civil rights investigation of the Chicago Police Department similar to probes of police departments in Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri.
The decision to investigate was confirmed to The Associated Press by a person familiar with the decision who wasn’t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly because it has not yet been announced. The person said an announcement is expected this week.
The investigation would come as the police force is under intense scrutiny since the recent release of a video showing white police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times.
Prosecutors have charged Van Dyke with first-degree murder in the 2014 shooting, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel forced Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy to resign.