Dozens of protesters in Chicago block streets, traffic

The Chicago Police Department’s superintendent said Saturday his concern over the fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old led him to strip three officers of their police powers and the district in which the shooting happened had received body cameras about a week prior.

The July 28 shooting, in which videos show Chicago police firing repeatedly at a stolen auto as it careens down the street away from them, led Johnson to strip three of the officers of their police powers for violating an unspecified department policy.

A crowd composed mostly of young people marched downtown Sunday to protest the shooting of O’Neal, following months of large-scale marches against police tactics in the wake of the release of a video a year ago that showed a white police officer fatally shooting black teen Laquan McDonald.

“Today is the last day”, a protester shouted.

The protests began three days ago, when the Independent Police Review Authority released footage from nine police cameras-four body cams and five auto dashcams – that purported to show officers shooting at O’Neal.

Police said the officer who shot O’Neal in the back violated the rules and will be held responsible.

Video being described as “horrific” and “graphic” was released Friday in connection with the shooting.

Paul O’Neal is not the just latest unarmed black teen to be shot police. Another officer is heard saying, “F*ck, man”.

But some people still shouted chants that compared the CPD to the KKK, and some protesters could be seen taunting officers and even spitting on police cars. Another officer who apparently fired his weapon laments that he was going to be on “desk duty for 30 (expletive) days now”.

Johnson said the officers had training in how to use the cameras but it is not clear how extensive that training was.

The officer who fired the fatal shots can also be heard acknowledging that he did not know whether O’Neal was armed.

“Please bear in mind that this video material, as shocking and disturbing as it is, is not the only evidence to be gathered and analysed”, said Sharon Fairley, an investigator of the incident.

“Since all the other cameras were working, Im sure that camera was working and it (the shooting) was edited out or that officer turned it off on objective, ” said JaMal Green, an activist who spoke at the rally.

Oppenheimer alleged that the non-operating body camera was part of a police effort to cover-up what he called a “cold-blooded murder”. At one point, an officer can be seen telling others that he did not know who was firing. The City Council authorized funding to start the process in the 2014-2015 budget, and in 2015 officers tested and evaluated six or seven models, Hall said, looking at factors like sound and video quality, ease of use and camera angle.

“There are so many people who have felt the impact of O’Neal’s death”, Mike Siviwe Elliott, chair of labor committee for the Alliance, told AlterNet.

When Johnson attempted to read the statement to reporters outside police headquarters, a small group of protesters interrupted. However, although police alleged that O’Neal had been in possession of a firearm and that they had fired five rounds in their own defense, later reports showed O’Neal had indeed been unarmed and had been taken down by a single bullet to the back, one of at least 15 rounds fired by officers on the scene.