“Black Christmas” Protest in Chicago Seeks Mayor’s Ouster

There were apparently no injuries.

For more than three hours Thursday, demonstrators drew a diverse crowd, including one placard in Spanish that said, “Fuera Rahm!” or “Rahm Out!”

Police killings, especially of black people, have sparked protests in some US cities over the a year ago and a half.

Employees continue to serve customers at the Apple Store on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, under th … Paul International Airport – resulting in closed stores, delayed flights and surreal images of riot police clogging escalators and entrances that said, “Welcome to Mall of America”.

Store security officers who stood nervously near store entrances, ready to lock doors as protesters passed, were not called into action. Shoppers and passers-by took the protest in stride, and stopped to take photos.

A protester was freed on bond Friday after his arrest during a Christmas Eve march along the Magnificent Mile shopping district to protest the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald.

Officer Jason Van Dyke has been charged with first-degree murder.

Chicago Police officer yells at reporters and photographers to get back as officers take into custody a protester during a scuffle at a bicycle barricade on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015, in Chicago.

Most shoppers attributed the headache of being on Michigan Avenue on Thursday to their own failure to go shopping sooner, rather than the peaceful protest. Black Lives Matter, a loosely organized movement involved in many protests over race and policing issues, is calling holiday demonstrations “Black Christmas”. Protesters are critical of the police department’s treatment of suspects, particularly black ones.

On Wednesday, protesters were arrested in Black Lives Matter demonstrations blocking roadways and highways near the Minneapolis-St. Many protesters are holding signs that read “Rahm Resign”, which are aimed at Chicago’s mayor, Rahm Emanuel.

“It’s no stress. The police and the protesters are very well-behaved”, he said.

“Someone have a Taser?” one officer is heard asking.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the cameras will help “build trust” in the police. More than 70 percent of people shot by police in Chicago from 2007-2014 were black.

Employees and patrons to the Apple Store on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, watch protesters trying …

The area is one of the largest shopping attractions in the Midwest and hosts many high-end stores and hotels.

None of the police dash-cam video of the shooting included audio.

Seventeen-year-old Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times by one of several officers responding to a complaint about auto break-ins in October 2014.

The police department released dashcam video of the shooting last night after being ordered to do so by a judge, but there was no accompanying audio.