Chicago Chief: Cop Wary of Pulling Gun Nearly Died

With a new police shooting in the news seemingly every week, some officers are starting to doubt themselves and put their own lives at risk, says Chicago's police chief. Superintendent Eddie Johnson said one of his officers was beaten to unconsciousness by a man under the influence of PCP on Wednesday, reports the Chicago Tribune. The officer told Johnson she didn't use her gun in self-defense because "she didn’t want her family or the department to go through the scrutiny the next day on national news." She and two others who were injured subduing the suspect are all being treated at a local hospital, and charges are pending.

"Because of the scrutiny going on nationwide, there (are) officers second-guessing themselves," said Johnson. "That’s what we don’t want.” Chicago police are under investigation by the US Justice Department over the fatal shooting of teenager Laquan McDonald last year. Partly in response to that, the department unveiled a new use-of-force policy on Friday that calls on officers to preserve the "sanctity of life" and use lethal force only as a last resort, the AP reports. It also calls on officers to intervene if fellow officers are not abiding by that rule. The new policy is here, and the public will have 45 days to comment. (More police stories.)