Police Heads Roll as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Tries to Hold Power After Cover-Up Accusations

In a late-night Sunday media dump, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office announced that Scott Ando, chief administrator of the Independent Police Review Authority, has resigned, effective immediately, and will be replaced by Sharon Fairly, who had spent eight years as an assistant U.S. attorney before becoming first deputy and general counsel of the city’s Office of the Inspector General.

Ando is just the latest police official to be forced out as Rahm Emanuel continues to let heads roll to save his own political career. Last week, Emanuel fired Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy.

The announcement of Ando’s resignation came as protests continue unabated in Chicago over the police shooting of Laquan McDonald. Protests have been a nearly daily occurrence since the release of video showing white police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting black teenager McDonald 16 times. Van Dyke was charged with first degree murder and is currently free on bail.

On Sunday, Rev. Jesse Jackson led another protest in the Loop area, with over 200 protesters marching and chanting.

However, the situation in Chicago is made even more volatile because there is a split between the establishment Democrat party-connected black activists like Jesse Jackson and groups like the Nation of Islam, Black Lives Matter, Revolutionary Communist Party, and other grassroots activists who want Rahm Emanuel to resign.

As Breitbart News reported in an interview just after the Black Friday shutdown of Michigan Avenue, many activists are bluntly calling for Emanuel to step down. The activists are openly critical of establishment Democrats like Jackson who are helping Emanuel maintain power.

A press release from Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition called for a special prosecutor and a federal investigation. It was critical of State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, but did not call for Emanuel’s resignation.

Also on Sunday, the Associated Press reported that the federal Department of Justice plans to announce a civil rights investigation of the Chicago Police Department later this week. The probe is reportedly similar to those the DOJ conducted on police departments in Baltimore, Maryland, and Ferguson, Missouri.

Follow Breitbart News investigative reporter and Citizen Journalism School founder Lee Stranahan on Twitter at @Stranahan.