Head of Chicago's cop review agency resigns
And the heads continue to roll in the Windy City …
Scott Ando, a 30-year veteran of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), resigned late Sunday night from his position at the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA), a civilian group that investigates police shootings and officer misconduct in Chicago. Ando had been at the helm of the IPRA for about two years.
The IPRA has come under scrutiny for allegedly covering up several questionable police shootings in the city by labeling them as justifiable. Those cover-ups, it is alleged, occurred at the behest of Ando.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel accepted his resignation (no further statement from Ando has been made available) and noted that:
“ ... it has become clear that new leadership is required as we rededicate ourselves to dramatically improving our system of police accountability and rebuilding trust in that process.”
“New leadership” is the same phrase Emanuel used when he fired Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy at the beginning of December.
Calls have been growing louder for “new leadership” in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, where Anita Alvarez waited until the video of Officer Jason Van Dyke executing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was released to charge the officer with murder. Activists are also calling for new leadership in the mayor’s office, which they believe is where the cover-up began.
Thus far, Mayor Emanuel has said he will not be heeding that call.