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The Congressional Black Caucus is applauding the Justice Department's decision to investigate the Chicago Police Department, but says the decision is also "further proof" that bias by law enforcement is a real problem in the nation.

"The multiple shooting incidents involving police in Chicago and across the country serve as further proof that bias and excessive use of force by law enforcement are real in the African-American community," CBC Chairman G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., said in a statement Monday following the Justice Department's announcement.

The newly announced probe will look into if the nation's second largest police department has engaged in a "pattern or practice of violation of the Constitution or federal law," Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a press conference Monday morning. The investigation comes after a police dashcam video was released showing a white police department officer fatally shooting a black teenager, Laquan McDonald, in October 2014.

According to Butterfield, the CBC, lead by Rep. Bobby Rush, R-Illinois, sent a letter to Lynch asking to initiate the investigation.

In the letter, dated Dec. 3 and signed by 43 House members, Rush notes that in the past year there have been at least "11 different incidents of the unjustified use of lethal and excessive force by police officers against African-Americans," including the high-profile deaths of Eric Garner in July 2014 and Tamir Rice in November 2014.

"These incidents are not isolated and reflect a pervasive pattern of racial bias in policing. Today's announcement from Attorney General Lynch is an opportunity to restore the trust of the American public in our criminal justice system and put an end to racial and discriminatory profiling by law enforcement once and for all," Butterfield said.

Washington Examiner

By KELLY COHEN

DECEMBER 7, 2015