Rahm Is Returning Early From His Cuba Vacation

By Mae Rice in News on Dec 28, 2015 9:00PM

Photo credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Mayor Rahm Emanuel will cut his holiday vacation in Cuba short, due to the Chicago Police Department’s latest police shooting, in which two black Chicagoans were fatally shot on Chicago’s West side. Emanuel plans to return Tuesday afternoon, according to mayoral spokeswoman Kelley Quinn’s Monday statement.

“While Mayor Emanuel has been in constant contact with his staff and Interim Superintendent (John) Escalante, he is cutting his family trip short so that he can continue the ongoing work of restoring accountability and trust in the Chicago Police Department,” Quinn said in her statement.

According to the Sun-Times, Emanuel couldn’t leave Cuba at the time of the shootings, because he's in a rural area without regular air service.

In the Saturday morning shooting on the West Side of Chicago, officers killed Quintonio LeGrier, a 19-year-old engineering student; and Bettie Jones, a 55-year-old mother of five who was LeGrier’s downstairs neighbor.

The department has called Jones’ shooting “accidental.” LeGrier was going through a mental health crisis, and should not have been shot either. In the wake of the tragic incident, the city has announced plans to revamp police protocol for calls about mental health issues.