Protesters call for justice for McDonald, press mayor to resign

For days following the video’s release, hundreds of protesters have shut down the streets of Chicago to rally for the resignations of Emanuel and Alvarez in response to the shooting video.

In this photo taken Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks during a special City Council meeting that he called to discuss a police abuse scandal in Chicago.

The footage was kept from the public until last month and was released upon a judge’s order. Family members are also expected to demand more change from inside the Chicago Police Department and call for city, state and federal resources to be invested into the West Side community of Lawndale to benefit struggling residents.

However, if NBC Chicago’s reporting has indeed uncovered the first evidence that Emanuel’s office was aware that the story his police department was pushing was dishonest, the news will bolster calls for the mayor’s resignation.

He says Mayor Emanuel must respond to the pain felt by many Chicagoans – but says that “rhetoric without results would be disingenuous”.

“We see police officers shooting in the back”. The family has filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming that Johnson was not armed.

McDonald was shot 16 times in October 2014 by police Officer Jason Van Dyke, who has been charged with first-degree murder.

“Today, I own it. I take responsibility for what happened because it happened on my watch”, Emanuel said.

The city had refused to release the video to a journalist, saying doing so could affect an ongoing investigation into the shooting.

Alvarez has defended the delay in pressing charges against Van Dyke, calling it a complex investigation.

“We’re here today because there’s a problem in the city of Chicago when an officer who has sworn to serve and protect can gun down a citizen for no other reason than he was black”, added Hunter, who said McDonald was a “big boy, but he was a teddy bear”.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner, Mr. Charles Ramsey, who is from Chicago, today said Mr. Emanuel shouldn’t resign because of one incident, citing the fact that voters just re-hired him and if they were truly unhappy, that should’ve been reflected in the voter turnout.

The day before, student protesters staged a “die-in” at Daley Plaza. He fired the police chief and named a new head of the independent body that investigates police conduct.