An attorney in Chicago working for the administration of Rahm Emanuel announced his resignation Tuesday after a federal judge ruled he had intentionally hid crucial evidence in a trial over a fatal police shooting and then lied about his reasons for doing so, local press reported.
U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang made the decision Monday, adding that the veteran attorney, Jordan Marsh, had also lied about his misconduct.
The departure of Senior Corporation Counsel Jordan Marsh, who has worked for the city for almost 20 years, also follows a judge’s order to open a new case in the lawsuit brought by the family of Darius Pinex, killed by officers after a 2011 traffic stop.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration has been under fire after the recent release of a video showing a white officer fatally shooting Black teenager Laquan McDonald in 2014.
During the past New Year’s Eve, hundreds of people took the streets in Chicago to honor the lives of those killed in police violence this year as they demanded reform. Activists say the resignation of Marsh is the latest shame for the mayor's office in the continuing fallout over the city's handling of police brutality.
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Police brutality, especially against Black people in the U.S., has become a major issue in the political debate, with the Black Lives Matter movement -which rose to prominence amid nationwide protests against police killings of unarmed Black men and women - having an influential role in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.
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The movement has urged Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders to address racism and other problems plaguing the Black community, while criticizing the platforms of Republican candidates. According to The Guardian and The Washington Post, nearly 1,000 people died at the hands of police in 2015 in the U.S.
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