On Nov. 24, the day the Laquan McDonald shooting video was released, Chicago Sun-Times columnist wrote about City Hall whisperers “wondering if the next steady wheel at the CPD helm will be an African-American or Latino who grew up in Chicago.”
Sneed listed First Deputy Police Supt. John Escalante, Deputy Police Chief John Williams and Deputy Police Chief Eric Washington as three names who could top the list of possible replacements for McCarthy. Now that McCarthy has been formally dismissed, those names take on another degree of seriousness.
Escalante, a former street officer and bureau of detectives chief, has been tapped to become interim replacement while Mayor Rahm Emanuel and city officials look for a permanent superintendent to hire.
Washington, a 28-year veteran of the force, is the one candidate among the three with close West Side ties, having served as 11th District (Harrison) commander from 2008 to 2015. In February, he was promoted to deputy police chief responsible for working with the patrol division and “CAPS personnel to coordinate the multiple community policing efforts and initiatives,” according to a DNAinfo article.
