Laquan McDonald Protesters Shut Down Chicago’s Magnificent Mile

Judge Peggy Chiampas said the state’s attorney’s office recommended dropping the charge against 22-year-old Malcolm London and told London he was free to go.

The teen stumbles and falls as he is hit by gunfire.

Demonstrators angry about the killing of a black teenager who was shot 16 times by a white police officer a year ago marched through the streets and disrupted Black Friday shopping in Chicago’s ritziest retail district.

It is unclear how much money was lost during the Laquan McDonald protest. For the fifth day, activists used Michigan Avenue to stage a protest.

Officer Jason Van Dyke, 37, was charged Tuesday morning with first-degree murder for the October 2014 shooting that left McDonald dead.

About 2,000 protesters descended on The Magnificent Mile – a major shopping area in Chicago – on Black Friday to protest the police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. “Those kinds of things begin to break down the trust between police and community”, Trotter said. One would be to give the city of Chicago credit for releasing the video and being upfront about the conduct of the officer, who faces first-degree murder charges. “Why did it take so long to make public the tape?”

They stopped short of defending Van Dyke’s actions – which were caught in a graphic video made public this week – but did say it was important to place them in the context of a racially divided city beset by violence.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel denounced the behavior as a case of one allegedly bad apple.

The auto with the camera continues to roll forward until the officers are out of the frame. McDonald, who authorities allege was carrying a 3-inch knife and was suspected of breaking into cars, spins around and falls to the pavement as Van Dyke keeps shooting. It also raises disturbing questions about the Cook County prosecutor, Anita Alvarez, and federal prosecutors. The officers are not responding.

The dashcam video showing McDonald’s death is painful to watch. He also said the trial should not be held in the court of public opinion but in an actual courtroom.

“The testimony of that officer is going to be very, very compelling about why he did not perceive a deadly threat”, Obayashi said.

The system should have identified Van Dyke as a ticking time bomb.

“I don’t see a justification for deadly force”. Alvarez knew of its content and with that could have pressed charges if not immediately after LaQuan’s murder, certainly sooner than 400 days later.

The video highlights the way surveillance footage can influence prosecutors. Chicago police shot an average of 50 people a year in that period, against 31 a year for Los Angeles, 27 in New York City, and 14 in Houston. The mayor and his police chief must commit to a thorough examination and overhaul of the disciplinary process.

First, it’s worth remembering this video was not taken recently. Despite indications that the man he shot appeared to be surrendering, Webb was acquitted of attempted voluntary manslaughter at trial.

Police also received reports that demonstrators were shoving people at a nearby Forever 21 store. But compare that to the Cincinnati case last summer in which black driver Samuel DuBose was fatally shot on camera by University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing during a routine traffic stop. That explains, for example, why Van Dyke remained on paid desk duty for 13 months before he was charged with a crime. [But] it’s not just about somebody just getting killed.