Chicago police hire first official focused on disability law

CHICAGO (AP) - A retired Chicago Police Department official is returning to work to oversee the agency's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, authorities said Friday.

Deborah Pascua spent 27 years with the department. She is the first official assigned to oversee the agency's policy and training for maintaining the rights of people with disabilities.

The role is among the sweeping court-supervised reforms ordered for the department after the U.S. Justice Department found a history of racial bias and excessive use of force by Chicago police.

"Ensuring equal access to police services and facilities for persons with disabilities is a major priority for me because we all have family members or friends in the community impacted by a disability,'Å¥ Pascua said in a statement.