Protests in Chicago over police shooting

Caption + Lamon Reccord, right, stares and yells at a Chicago police officer “Shoot me 16 times” as he and others march through Chicago’s Loop Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, one day after murder charges were brought against police officer Jason Van Dyke in the killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.

Their protests follow the release of a graphic video showing a white cops officers officer shooting a black teenager to death.

Demonstrators are scheduled to march down the city’s Magnificent Mile, a retail-intensive area in order to call attention to brutality and the other factors believed to have contributed to McDonald’s death by police previous year.

The Magnificent Mile Association represents the interests of employees and businesses in the famous North Michigan Avenue District of Chicago.

Some 20 million people visit each year.

“This is going to give an opportunity for all of Chicago to come out, demonstrate their outrage and their anger in a nonviolent way, (and) interrupt the economic engine of Black Friday”, said the Rev. Michael Pfleger, a Roman Catholic priest and prominent local activist.

Protests in Chicago have ramped up a notch.

Also joining in the march is Chicago Teacher’s Union president Karen Lewis, who is encouraging her members to participate and said, “It is time to turn our pain into power”.

The 11 a.m. demonstration will be the latest in the city since Tuesday, when officials released dashcam video that shows 17-year-old Laquan McDonald being shot 16 times and prosecutors charged Officer Jason Van Dyke with first-degree murder. They would not comment on specific security plans, but did say they will have officers throughout the city for public safety, traffic and to support any peaceful demonstrations.

Protesters are demanding the Chicago police commissioner’s resignation, as well as a federal investigation into the city’s police force.

He and others are trying to bring attention to the 2014 incident, in which the black teenager was shot 16 times by a white police officer.

Protests have largely remained peaceful with a handful of arrests each day.