Emanuel Remains Confident In City Law Department After Judge Rules Attorney Hid Evidence
(CBS) -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he still has confidence in the city's law office, even after a judge ruled that a city attorney hid evidence in the case of a fatal police shooting.
"There is zero tolerance for violating not only the public trust but also your professional standards and they'll be no place for that," the mayor said Tuesday.
Chicago police shot Darius Pinex in 2011, saying the car he was in matched another car wanted in a shooting. A federal jury cleared the officers.
A federal judge ordered a new trial, saying city lawyer Jordan Marsh withheld police radio recordings that mentioned no shooting.
Corporation Counsel Steven Patton said: "This is not the way we operate. We've already taken steps and will take additional steps to make sure it never happens again."
Federal judge Edmond Chang has imposed sanctions and penalties against the city of Chicago because Marsh failed to turn over an audio recording involving the fatal 2011 police shooting of Pinex and then lied about doing it.
Podcast
Marsh has resigned.
As for Patton, the man in charge of all the city attorneys, Emanuel says, "He does have my confidence because he has the confidence to represent the city in the courtroom but he also has my support to make sure this never happens again and that the department in that area specifically is operating at the highest level that the public should expect."
Patton said his office will double down on its efforts to properly train lawyers to produce records.
Congressman Danny Davis says the revelations only feed suspicions the system is rigged.
"Much of this is what people have felt and had inklings of," Davis said.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said much the same.
"They have to have a department that holds people accountable for bad behavior and doesn't expect people to lie and cover up and perjure themselves for colleagues who are wrong," she said.
