The hits keep on coming for the beleaguered Chicago Police Department, already one of the largest forces to ever come under the direct scrutiny of the U.S. Department of Justice.

At a time when the 12,000 members department is already under sweeping review by the DOJ over its policies and practices in the wake of a number of high-profile, deadly police shootings, the Chicago Sun Times reports the city has now been ordered to pay $3.1 million to 47 immigrants who were once denied opportunities to join the force based on discriminatory hiring practices.

The rule in question required applicants to have lived in the U.S. for at least a decade. The city already requires all city employees reside within the boundaries of Chicago.

City Officials Sign Off on Settlement

City officials agreed to the payout after DOJ investigators formally filed suit earlier this month in U.S. District Court charging discrimination. The suit alleged more than 92 percent of all the candidates disqualified by the CPD based on the continuous residency requirement were foreign born.

The suit named Masso Khan, born in India, and Glenford Flowers, born in Belize, as plaintiffs. Both men took and passed the police exam in 2006, but saw their applications similarly rejected because of the wayward residence requirement the city had imposed.

"Chicago, through CPD, has pursued policies and practices that discriminate against individuals born outside the United States because of their national origin and that deprive or tend to deprive foreign-born individuals of employment opportunities because of their national origin," the suit stated.

According to Chicagoist, city officials countered by arguing the additional requirement was instituted to facilitate background checks, with alderman Nick Sposato insisting he still has no problem with the stipulation.having once become the law of the land.

"I don't think we did anything wrong," he said. "I mean -- we're talking about a police officer. We need a history. We need to know what these people are like."

Part of the settlement now requires the department to hire at least eight of the 47 immigrant applicants, with retroactive retirement benefits for each of them. All of the 47 applicants are slated to receive an equal share of the $3.1 million payout.

Laquan McDonald Shooting Sparks Outrage

Meanwhile, the ongoing federal probe of the department was largely sparked by the release of dash-cam video showing white police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting African-American teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times in October 2014. He has since been indicted on first-degree murder charges.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel quickly moved to remove then police commissioner Garry McCarthy from his post after demonstrators took to the streets in protest marches that ultimately also called for the resignations of the mayor and Cook County state's attorney Anita Alvarez.

"We're going to be very thorough, fair and as expeditious as we can be," Vanita Gupta, head of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division recently told the Chicago Tribune of her department's investigation. She added discussions with city leaders and attorneys have already commenced with the aim to let people have their say "so all the stakeholders will have a sense of what this will look like in the next months."

Chicago's police department has a long and sordid history of abuse. Between 2004 and 2014, the force had to pay out some $500 million in settlements, judgements and legal bills stemming from misconduct cases.

Since the DOJ investigation kicked off, CPD has been embroiled in still more controversy. Just hours after the Christmas holiday, Officer Robert Rialmo fatally wounded college student Quintonio LeGrier and 55-year-old mother of five Bette Jones while responding to a domestic abuse call at their West Side apartment residence.

According to CNN, LeGrier's father, Antonio, has now filed a wrongful death suit against the city, charging that the officer fatally wounded his 19-year-old son without justification and failed to administer medical support to him as he lay bleeding to death.

Several media outlets have also reported city officials have already publicly admitted Jones was an innocent bystander, who was "accidentally struck and tragically killed." Her family has also since filed suit against the city.

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