Warning: Video contains graphic violence.
Chicago officials have publicly released videos, audio recordings and other evidence from 101 violent incidents involving the city's police department.
The move marks another step by city officials in a bid for greater transparency and rebuilding trust in the local community, after outrage over perceived injustices over police violence.
Included in the videos officially released online were the following incidents:
Chicago's Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) has been the object of criticism for past inaction. All of these just-released cases, which date as far back as 2011, are still open, with no finding one way or the other by the authority yet.
"These past few months, as the city has struggled with so many questions about policing and about police accountability, it has been clear that we all agree that there's a lack of trust, and that increased transparency is essential to rebuilding that trust," IPRA chief administrator Sharon Fairley said.
Asked if it is true that police are almost never found guilty of misconduct by the IPRA, Ms Fairley responded: "That has been the history of the agency. I'm not sure that's the case going forward."
From now on, she added, relevant videos will be released 60 to 90 days after an incident.
The video of the controversial shooting of black man Laquan McDonald by a white cop in 2014 came out 400 days after his death, causing widespread protests and triggering this new, more transparent policy.
Craig Futterman of the University of Chicago, who studies police misconduct, says the release of the videos is a "good start".
"Decades of secrecy and institutional denial should give us reason for skepticism about this, but I look forward to seeing whether this will really be a significant step in the direction of transparency. This really has the potential to mark a new day in Chicago," says Mr Futterman.
"But the real question is and the real challenge is what happens next? And Chicago's policies still fall far short of what's going to be needed to build trust here."
Newshub. / CBS
