Shoppers undeterred by protesters in Chicago

Organizers said they are taking the Christmas Eve protest, one of many in the past month following the release of the Laquan McDonald police shooting video, to a place where city officials will feel it: Michigan Avenue on a busy shopping day.

On Wednesday, protesters with Black Lives Matter blocked roads to the major airport in both Minneapolis and San Francisco, and they were dispersed by police after assembling inside the Minneapolis area’s Mall of America. Now, the officer behind the shooting has been charged with murder.

“Our marches have learned from Baltimore and Ferguson and that’s why they’ve been so wonderfully peaceful and organized and at the same time, impactful and effective”, Livingston noted.

A video from a police dashboard camera shows McDonald holding a knife, but he was walking away from officers when he was gunned down.

“When one part of Chicago is affected, all of Chicago is affected”, explained one of the demonstrators, Alex Thiedmann.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s political career has hit a new low – Democratic presidential candidate Sen.

It is still unclear whether any of the responding officers arrived with a taser or attempted to use one, NBC Chicago reported.

Radio calls obtained by NBC5 through a Freedom of Information Act request Wednesday reveal that very question was also asked just moments before the Laquan McDonald shooting.

Protesters briefly blocked the entrance to a Michigan Avenue Apple Store, chanting, “No justice, no profits”.

Most shoppers on the street Thursday seemed undeterred, some walking through groups of protesters.

At 19:06 during the second hour of the audio, the dispatcher says, “I need to get some info on the victim’s condition, whatever you can, when you can, OK?”

Many demonstrators hope the ongoing protests might dampen retail sales in order to highlight what was seen by many as a tardy and still insufficient response from the city and police to McDonald’s death and to underscore broader accusations of police brutality.

Some protesters objected to the treatment by police compared with past demonstrations. “Message to Rahm: While you’re out on vacation, we’re going to leave this message for you when you get back”. A 19-year-old was charged with failure to obey police and disorderly conduct after an incident at MI and Erie Street about 1:30 p.m., and a 22-year-old man was charged with battery and failure to obey police after an incident at the same intersection about 3:30 p.m., said Officer Nicole Trainor, a police spokeswoman.