Chicago Protesters Plan Black Friday March Over Laquan McDonald Death
A march protesting the videotaped slaying of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by a Chicago police officer is planned Friday in the city’s busiest shopping district on the busiest shopping day of the year.
Meanwhile, the fallout from the video has resulted in calls for a deeper investigation into the Chicago Police Department.
The Wednesday night news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office comes after Cook County prosecutors charged Officer Jason Van Dyke with first-degree murder in the death of the 17-year-old McDonald, whom he shot 16 times.
The black teenager who was shot and killed by a white Chicago police officer had lived a troubled, disadvantaged life and had at least one previous brush with the law.
The group held banners showing photos of other black people fatally shot by police in Chicago and elsewhere. Van Dyke, who shot McDonald 16 times, was charged with first-degree murder Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015.
With the rain and the protests, there seemed to be less foot traffic than on a normal Black Friday, said John Curran, vice president of the Magnificent Mile Association, which represents 780 businesses on North Michigan Avenue.
“We have watched in anger and disappointment as the city has covered up police violence”, CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey said in a statement.
What continues to roil the black community is that police and prosecutor Alvarez waited 400 days to release the tape, well after last spring’s election in which Emanuel faced stiff competition and had to undergo the first-ever runoff election in Chicago history, an eyebrow-raising moment for an incumbent in a city renowned for its “machine”-like politics”. Protesters gathering even on this Thanksgiving day and promising bigger disruptions tomorrow.
Police guarded the parade through Chicago’s downtown business district, which was packed with families and tourists watching high school bands playing instruments and dancing as inflatables hovered above their heads.
Jason Van Dyke, a 14-year veteran on the Chicago police force, did not face any disciplinary action in any of the cases.
Officer Jason Van Dyke (r.) has been charged in Laquan McDonald’s death.
They’ve also harshly criticized the department for its months-long effort to prevent the video from being released and the state’s attorney’s office for taking more than a year to file charges against the officer, despite having footage of the incident. It showed McDonald as he was gunned down in the middle of a street.
“I’ve never quit on anything in my life”, McCarthy said. He also has been fired from the police department. Another perspective from a different squad vehicle less than a minute later shows McDonald on the ground after he had been shot 16 times. The shooting occurs off camera.
“There is not just him (Laquan McDonald)”, one protester said.
Officers are supposed to verify cameras are working properly and immediately notify a supervisor if they are inoperable, according to the directive. Officers may also manually engage the recording system without activating the lights.
The demonstration Friday to protest a fatal shooting by police a year ago has so far been peaceful. That average exceeds that of the larger cities of NY and Los Angeles. “Too many have already died”, said Chapman, whose organization, the Chicago Alliance Against Racism and Political Oppression, is pushing for an elected, civilian police accountability council.