April 28--Hours after images of burned buildings and rioting in Baltimore dominated national news broadcasts, Chicago police announced they will be hosting a round of neighborhood meetings to discuss trust and communications with residents.
In a Tuesday news release, Superintendent Garry McCarthy did not mention any specific incidents but made a reference to the "national discussion" going on about the relationship between police and residents in cities across the country. The so-called outreach tour aims to "build and sustain trust," according to the department.
Clergy and residents on the department's advisory councils will help lead the sessions, but no timetable was announced.
The announcement came a week after a Cook County judge acquitted a white Chicago police detective on a legal technicality of an involuntary manslaughter charge in the fatal off-duty shooting of Rekia Boyd, a 22-year-old black woman, drawing outrage in the African-American community.
