Several protesters were seen lying facedown on the ground in handcuffs, but a police spokesman said she hadn’t been informed of any arrests. He didn’t give details. Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy called the allegation “absolutely untrue”. “When you go home and put on clothes like me, you’re black and they’re going to pull you over because you’re just like me”, Steverson shouted.
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In nearly all cases, investigations of the Chicago Police Department’s officer-involved shootings find that lethal force is justified.
“Shut it down.” Entrances were also blocked at the Disney Store, the Apple Store, Nike, Tiffany & Co., and Neiman Marcus, among others. Some even snapped photos of the crowd. But overall, the protests have been peaceful.
According to the Chicago Tribune, protesters took over the streets of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile in the wake of the video release of the Laquan McDonald shooting.
Friday’s demonstrators included a large contingent from the Chicago Teachers Union, which mobilized opposition to Emanuel’s re-election bid early this year. However in that description was contradicted by an eyewitness in that night who 1st observed McDonald making an attempt to pull up his trousers as he ran via the Burger King parking zone with cops officers trailing him.
The teenager did not speak to any of the officers or respond to commands to drop the knife. “Justice for Laquan. Which side are you on?” and “16 shots” were still more. “The mistreatment of people and corruption in this city, I don’t think it’s specific to Chicago but I’m pretty outraged that my students have to live in fear every day”.
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.
Judge Peggy Chiampas said the state’s attorney’s office recommended dropping the charge against 22-year-old Malcolm London and told London he was free to go. Reverend Marshall Hatch of the New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church said, “This is something that has touched the conscience of our entire city”. “Now we have the opportunity and the need to move forward from the 4th Precinct to the Capitol of Minnesota”, he said.
Several hundred demonstrators have gathered in the drizzling rain, many with umbrellas and plastic-wrapped signs.
Protesters shut down parts of Chicago’s luxury shopping district Friday and demanded a federal investigation into the police shooting death of teen Laquan McDonald, alleging a wide-ranging coverup that spans a year-long investigation. “But neither is oppression”, Frank Chapman, a field organizer with the alliance, said at the start of the event. Taking Friday’s demonstrations to the city’s main shopping area ensures high visibility.
Paxton Murphy of Chicago’s South Loop said she was shoved and “forcibly pushed back as she was trying to enter the Crate and Barrel store, 646 N. MI”.
And protests there are nothing new. Black Friday on Michigan Avenue was one of those times.
Although the protests hampered traffic along one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares during one of the busiest shopping days of the year, some expressed support for the protests.
Activists have been especially critical of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has urged calm in the wake of the video’s release.
The Chicago Sun-Times’ initial reports had Laquan McDonald as a threat to the safety of the police officers on the scene.
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Dion Trotter, president of the Cook County chapter of the National Black Police Association, said a 13-month delay in releasing the video of Van Dyke shooting McDonald frayed relations with the community.
