They also showed pictures of black people who had been killed by police in recent years and called on people to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.
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“Until change takes place there will be more boycotts”, civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson said while at the protest. “We want mass demonstrations, mass voter registration”.
Protesters marched on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile on Black Friday, three days after the release of video showing the 2014 shooting death of Laquan McDonald, 17.
He said his organization, the Chicago Alliance Against Racism and Political Oppression, is pushing for an elected, civilian police accountability council.
“Find a door! Shut it down!” protesters shouted.
“We believe CPD officers have engaged in the systemic use of excessive force and carried out a pattern of discriminatory harassment against African American residents in the city”, Chicago Urban League Interim President Shari Runner said in a statement. Jallouqa engaged in a heated debate with the protesters until a Zara employee escorted the man and his wife into the store. Jackson said he met with Rush and U.S. Rep. Danny Davis as well as activists, and they, too, sought a U.S. Justice Department inquiry into the police’s handling of the McDonald shooting, according to the Chicago Tribune. “And I think public leaders need to try to figure out ways to unite people around common purposes again, rather than divide us up”.
As they have all week, protesters – frustrated by the fact that it has taken more than a year for Van Dyke to be charged – on Friday demanded the resignation of Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy and the assignment of a special prosecutor to take over the case from Cook County officials. He says despite people screaming in their faces, getting hit with spittle and thrown objects, officers are acting in a professional manner. In a dash-cam video, released hours after Van Dyke was charged, however, McDonald can be seen walking away from the officer before his body strikes the pavement as he is shot.
A march is set to start at 11 a.m.in response to the Laquan McDonald shooting. “We’re going to put her in Anita’s position”, Trotter said Thursday.
One organizer vowed to enter the Chicago Board of Trade building on Michigan Avenue.
Also outside the same retailer, a protester confronted police officers, criticizing authorities for not releasing the dashcam video of McDonald’s death for 400 days.
Protesters gathered on Chicago’s “Magnificent Mile”, one of the city’s busiest shopping districts, in what Hatch told WLS is a way to “project the pain they’re feeling on the rest of the city” in light of the video, which shows Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times in 15 seconds.
Activists have said more than 20 misconduct complaints were filed against Van Dyke during his career without him facing any disciplinary action.
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All previous marches have been largely peaceful. Van Dyke’s lawyer says the officer felt his life was in danger.
