Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, facing calls for his resignation after a series of fatal police shootings, announced major changes on Wednesday in how city police respond to crises situations.
Emanuel and Interim Police Superintendent John Escalante said the city would try to make interactions with police more conversational and less confrontational, and would double the number of Tasers available to police. Tasers are weapons that can deliver an incapacitating, non-lethal shock.
Emanuel cut short a family vacation in Cuba this week to return to the city to deal with public anger after police shot and killed a 55-year-old mother and a 19-year-old college student. Police, already under a federal civil rights investigation over use of deadly force, have admitted the woman's death was an accident.
(Reporting by David Alexander in Washington; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)