Protesters have consistently and peacefully protested the death ofLaquan McDonald – a 17-year-old who was fatally shot 16 times by Officer Jason Van Dyke last year – since the 400 day-delayed release of an edited video showing the graphic killing.
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At the Harley Davidson store, protesters managed to break through the locked doors, police radio traffic said.
Hundreds of protesters are blocking entrances to stores in Chicago’s high-end shopping district on Black Friday to draw attention to the police shooting of a black teenager.
In the six-minute video, McDonald is seen jogging down Pulaski Road when Van Dyke and another police officer step out from their auto carrying their guns.
Shutting down Chicago’s Magnificent Mile on Black Friday was a calculated move by those who protested in the wake of the Laquan McDonald video.
Activist Mark Carter called on people to “rise up” and shut down the Magnificent Mile shopping area on Friday. Many of those people are from out of town; they’re not even from the state of IL, the city of Chicago, and the retail that goes on down there has nothing to do with city government.
Emanuel and Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez have said the time was needed to conduct proper investigations. “I pay to keep it unlisted”, she said.
Police officials have denied charges that the video was deleted.
One family, downtown from suburban Woodstock, Ill., to tend to their ill son at nearby Northwestern Memorial Hospital, stood on the curb and took pictures as if they were watching a parade. Gary Nix, of South Chicago, waved an American flag in the middle of the street in support of both the protesters and the police, who he says are not represented by Officer Van Dyke.
“The whole city should really be in an uproar”, said Levon Barnes, a teacher, youth leader and protester from North Carolina. Van Dyke was also charged with first-degree murder just hours before the video was released.
As Chicago contends with the aftermath of the McDonald shooting, the city has also been dealing with two other high profile killings.
Thousands of protesters blocked traffic and barred shoppers from entering stores during the Black Friday sales extravaganza to demand justice for a black teen killed by a Chicago police officer.
If convicted on the first-degree murder charge, Van Dyke will likely be sentenced to a prison term of 20 years to life. His path to the presidency owes much to Chicago, and he remains close to the municipal leadership: Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s first chief of staff, assumed the city’s mayoral mantel in 2011.
The report by Slate goes on to say that the autopsy – which was only released after a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request – tells a very different story.
“Because ultimately we try to do actions to get a reaction, and so tomorrow and the days following, I’m curious to know what the reaction from our targets is actually going to be”, he said.
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There was a fracas involving a few dozen protesters at the Banana Republic which reportedly included some arrests. “He is walking away from the officer”, said Geoff Alpert, a criminologist at the University of SC and an expert on police force. Tyshawn Lee’s murder has prompted a good deal of outrage and soul-searching in Chicago, but nothing like the marches and demonstrations protesting the death of Laquan McDonald.
