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CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - The City Council had a chance Tuesday to do something it failed to do several months ago, which was asking some tough questions about the Laquan McDonald case.
In hearings that stretched well into the evening, aldermen grilled a series of city, police and union officials.
Aldermen have been taking heat for failing to ask tough questions in April when they quickly approved the city's $5 million settlement for the police shooting of McDonald. So, now aldermen have turned up the heat on a parade of officials, including Interim Police Superintendent John Escalante.
"You got some bad police officers on the force. And it's your job to get them out of there,” said Alderman Emma Mitts.
"Today I'm here to say as a department we cannot and will not tolerate officers who lie or cover-up the misdeeds of others in the course of their duty. It is simply unacceptable,” said Interim Police Supt. John Escalante.
Escalante was briefly disrupted by a handful of protesters. However, the police union's chief also said cops are taking an unfair beating in the media and from the aldermen themselves.
"The morale that is going on in our streets right now with the police department has never been so low in my 35 years. I've not seen it this fractionalized. I've not seen it this close to the gutter,” said FOP President Dean Angelo.
That sparked a furious reaction from some aldermen.
"What you said today is out of line,” said Alderman John Arena. "Five hundred million dollars in police brutality settlements? What I would expect is being more a partner in this, instead of saying this council is the cause for your members being disgruntled.”
A handful of aldermen introduced a proposal that would require police to get training in the use of deadly force every year, instead of at the beginning of their careers in the police academy.
"Police officers that haven't been to the academy in 20 years and haven't got updated on the use of force or even to be reminded about their obligations,” said Alderman Ed Burke.
At the hearing, police also revealed that there's currently a total of 80 officers who've been stripped of their police powers on paid desk duty, awaiting the outcome of investigations. Three of those officers have been on paid desk duty since 2006 and are awaiting the outcome of a still-secret federal investigation.
Aldermen also heard testimony from Sharon Fairley, who just last week was appointed as the new head of the Independent Police Review Authority.
The Chicago Tribune reports interim Superintendent John Escalante said there's a meeting with DOJ officials Wednesday and he'll help identify a department liaison to work with them.
The aldermen's agenda included a symbolic resolution calling for a special prosecutor.
Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez charged Officer Jason Van Dyke with murder, but her office faces criticism for the timing. Alvarez says it was a complex investigation.