Activists march on Magnificent Mile to protest Laquan McDonald shooting

Demonstrators took to the streets of Chicago on Friday to try and disrupt one of the country’s busiest shopping days to protest the police shooting death of a black teenager.

McDonald’s death has also been likened to that of Michael Brown – the black teenager also shot dead by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in August past year.

The police officer who shot McDonald 16 times, Jason Van Dyke, 37, was charged with first-degree murder hours before a graphic video of the shooting was made public on Tuesday.

Protesters chanted “16 shots, 13 months!” as they marched up Michigan Avenue, referring to the number of times McDonald was shot, and the amount of time it took to file charges against Van Dyke.

Listen to robo call from Rev. Jesse Jackson ” Join us Friday, the day after Thanksgiving at 11 a.m., MI and Wacker Drive to march down the Magnificent Mile to express our outrage and our sense of dignity”, the message said.

Many protesters implied that Chicago officials were motivated to withhold the release of the video until after the mayoral election.

“A police officer is supposed to protect us”, said Deborah Lindsey, 66.

In a statement Thursday to WLS, the Magnificent Mile Association granted its support for the march. North Michigan Avenue is one of the largest shopping attractions in the Midwest and hosts many flagship stores, hotels and luxury brands.

A protest march has begun in Chicago’s shopping district, with the Rev. Jesse Jackson in the middle of a crowd that’s shouting, “What do we want?”

McDonald, said to have been carrying a folding knife, was shot while walking away from Van Dyke, who fired every bullet in his gun, including several after McDonald had fallen to the ground. “We hope that any assembly on Friday will continue to be peaceful”. Some people were angry that they got a phone call urging them to join Friday’s protest.

Officers along the sidewalk formed a barrier of sorts between the protesters and stores and helped shoppers get through the doors. On Thursday afternoon, police said they had made a total of just nine arrests.

Laquan McDonald, 17, swings into view on a four-lane street where police vehicles are stopped in the middle of the roadway. Garry McCarthy to step down and Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez to resign and allow a special prosecutor to handle the case. Police arrested two people but were later released. “Right now, our whole city and our whole criminal justice system is under indictment, because the people who were charged with making sure he was held accountable did it in darkness”.

Among the marchers was 73-year-old Frank Chapman of Chicago, who said the disturbing video confirms what activists have said for years about Chicago police brutality.

Trotter also insisted McCarthy must lose his job for not moving to fire Van Dyke. A visitor from Fort Dodge, Iowa, 35-year-old Monica Rentz, was taking photos to send to friends as she stood outside her hotel on Michigan Avenue. “Without some disruption, there is not going to be any change”, he said.