Who Is Sharon Fairley? Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Appoints New Head Of Independent Police Review Authority

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a press conference Monday about police accountability that he accepted and welcomed the Department of Justice’s investigation into the Chicago Police Department following release of a video showing the shooting by police of Laquan McDonald, a Chicago 17-year-old. Emanuel introduced Sharon Fairley as the new chief of the Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates police-involved shootings.

Emanuel’s stance on the investigation is a sharp departure from his previous position, when he inititally said a federal civil rights investigation would be "misguided."

After the video was released last month showing a white Chicago police officer shooting the black teenager 16 times in October 2014, Emanuel said the city needs comprehensive solutions, and called for better accountability, transparency and credibility. He said McDonald's death cannot be “just another incident.”

The previous head of the authority resigned Sunday. Fairley is a former federal prosecutor and was with Chicago's Office of Inspector General.

"I promise you I bring no agenda other than the pursuit of integrity and transparency in the work that IPRA does. This is what our Chicago police brethren deserve and what the City of Chicago citizens demand," Fairley said, the Associated Press reported.

When pressed by reporters over details of the McDonald case, Emanuel and new interim Chicago Police Superintendent John Escalante abruptly left the press conference.