Black Friday protest for Laquan McDonald in Chicago

Activists protesting the handling of the police shooting of Laquan McDonald targeted City Hall on Saturday.

Most of those leading the protests earlier in the week were younger activists, including members of Black Youth Project 100, and used social media to plan rallies and spread their message.

Saying he was “challenging the culture” in the Chicago PD, Jackson also noted that they felt it necessary to inconviences millions of Chicagoans and tourists to drive their point home. “We’re willing to step back so they could step up”, Barclay said.

Jackson also called for changes to the police chain of command. But entrusting the fact-finding on police shootings exclusively to any police department is no longer a realistic expectation.

Kansas City Police Chief Darryl Forté addressed the issue of trust in a curiously framed blog post last week.

“That has to end”, he said.

Thousands have marched on Chicago’s main shopping street, Michigan Avenue, to protest the killing of a black teen by a white police officer. He said only the unity of the masses will force the resignations they demand, and that same unity also will stop the bloodshed on Chicago’s streets.

Critics say that city and federal investigators haven’t shown urgency in dealing with the case; local columnist and editor Carol Marin pins blame on both “the feds” and President Obama, writing in the Sun-Times Friday, “The president doesn’t hurry”.

Burger King district manager Jay Darshane told NBC: “We had no idea they were going to sit there and delete the files”.

Chicago’s NBC affiliate reported that one man confronted the protesters, demanding they let him pass and telling them they are wasting their efforts and unfairly inconveniencing normal people.

“If we get hurt, you gotta hurt too”. I just hope that the president would have made similar statements had the officer been black and the victim white; or vice versus for other races.

In the days since the video’s release, there has been talk that marchers taking part in the Black Friday protest would engage in acts of civil disobedience, such as blocking store entrances to prevent shoppers from getting inside. Eventually, the Water Tower, a major shopping site, was shut down along with the other shops on Michigan Ave.

In Chicago, along the stretch known as the Magnificent Mile, traffic snarled and was rerouted as shoppers stopped along the sidewalk, stared, and took video with their phones.

“Our first time down at the Burger King restaurant when we started talking to employees, watching the Burger King video, when we realized video had been deleted, or is missing, absolutely we knew something was up”, said Jeff Neslund.

Protesters make their way up North Michigan Avenue on Friday. I just don’t like the fact that my phone number is being accessed. “It’s pretty miserable out here”, Andrew Boudwin said. He said the protests seemed peaceful.

“City Hall is where this needs to be because this is where the cover-up took place”, said Tio Hardiman. “Department stores have nothing, nothing, nothing to do with this”, he said.

Police themselves formed a blockade at the entrance of one large indoor shopping area but did so only to keep protesters from entering the large indoor space and disrupting shoppers.

Activists allege that officials from the police department to the State’s Attorney were involved in covering up the the truth about what happened that night for more than a year. “Garry McCarthy covered up this execution”.

Alvarez noted at a press conference in Chicago that other officers on the scene said that they did not believe Van Dyke’s use of force was necessary, and Van Dyke hinted during the CBSN interview at how the defense will likely counter those claims.