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 Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday ignored the board's three
finalists, the result of a national search, and instead named a
veteran black police supervisor as interim superintendent to lead
the department.
The Democratic mayor is trying to rebuild the third-biggest U.S.
city's trust in a police force facing a federal investigation and
racism accusations.
The tarnished image of Chicago's police has been a political
liability for Emanuel, who defied calls to resign last year after
days of protests following the release of video capturing a white
officer's shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald.
That case was one of numerous fatal police shootings of unarmed
African-Americans across the United States that have stirred outrage
and raised questions of racial bias in policing.
 The Chicago Police Board said on Friday it will take no further
action until developments play out, citing media reports about
possible changes by the city council to rules on appointing a police
superintendent. City officials are seeking to avoid another national
search for a superintendent, reports said.
"The Police Board will be taking the time that it needs to determine
the best path forward with regard to the Superintendent vacancy,"
Lori Lightfoot, police board president, said in a statement.
Emanuel's choice for interim superintendent was Eddie Johnson, the
55-year-old head of the police department's patrol division. He is
the third superintendent to lead the Chicago Police Department in
less than four months.
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Roderick Sawyer, a city council alderman and black caucus chairman,
said he has not seen any official proposals about changing the rules
regarding the selection of a superintendent.
Sawyer said the mayor should be allowed to pick the superintendent
as it is one of the most important jobs in the city. Also,
taxpayers' and superintendent applicants' time and money may be
wasted when the board selects candidates and the mayor eventually
rejects them, he said.
Emanuel did not respond to requests for comment.
Johnson said in a department statement on Friday that he plans to
meet with activists, elected officials and others to find ways to
make Chicago safer.
The violent crime rate "remains unacceptably high," with murders in
Chicago rising in March by 29 percent compared with March 2015, the
statement said.
(Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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