Chicago Protesters For Laquan McDonald Call Attention On Black Friday

Dozens of Chicago police officers lined the marchers’ route in front of the high-end stores that North Michigan Avenue is known for.

A march is set to start at 11 a.m.in response to the Laquan McDonald shooting.

Several protesters were seen lying face-down on the ground in handcuffs.

“I don’t understand the link between the shooting and stopping shopping”, said Michele Matthews, who was visiting Chicago from MI. He didn’t give details. While the protests on Black Friday in Chicago began relatively peacefully, earlier protests in Chicago did feature demonstrators tearing down lights on the city’s Christmas tree.

The video released Tuesday showed McDonald jogging down a street and then veering away from Van Dyke and another officer who emerge from a police SUV drawing their guns. Protesters also blocked the entrances to some stores while chanting “16 shots”, referring to the number of times McDonald was shot.

Outlets such as Neiman Marcus, Victoria’s Secret, Macy’s, the Apple Store, and other well-known retailers were blockaded with protesters standing arm-in-arm and refusing to let customers enter the stores or to allow those already inside to exit.

“Find a door! Shut it down!” protesters shouted. When one person tried to get through the front door of Saks Fifth Avenue, protesters screamed at him, shouting, “Shut it down!” “They seem more about gaining power and privilege than offering a workable blueprint of reform”. Some even snapped photos of the crowd.

The video, which Emanuel’s administration and the state’s attorney’s office have long fought to keep from being publicly released, instead shows 17-year-old McDonald carrying a small knife and walking away from officers before Van Dyke opens fire from about 10 feet away. Bobby Rush and Danny Davis, as well as activists, and they, too, sought a U.S. Justice Department inquiry into Police Department’s handling of the McDonald shooting, according to the Chicago Tribune. The officers are not responding. They paralyzed street traffic and chanted “16 shots!” He noted there’s a lot of energy in the aftermath of the video being released but wondered whether protesters will be able to maintain their momentum. “Justice in Chicago, I believe that”. Rentz says she is in the city for a wedding.

Hours before the rally, Chicago police said they made an arrest in the fatal shooting of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee.

Jackson, who’s president of the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition, noted how the city opposed the release of the video until a judge finally ordered its release under a reporter’s Freedom of Information Act request. The protesters, many holding umbrellas and plastic-wrapped signs, took to the streets in the steady rain instead.

He said his organization, the Chicago Alliance Against Racism and Political Oppression, is pushing for an elected, civilian police accountability council.

Many liken McDonald’s case to that of Michael Brown, the black teenager shot dead by a white policeman in Ferguson, Missouri a year ago, whose death triggered 15 months of demonstrations over perceived police brutality against black men.

The Rev. Jackson, one of the organizers of the event, asked protesters to recognize a broader significance in the day’s demand for justice.

A certain amount of shoppers being interviewed had no idea that there were planned protests for Black Friday and wondered why people were crowding Michigan Avenue.

The other demonstrations have been largely peaceful.