Outrage over the shooting ricocheted from the police department to the mayor’s office to Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s office, as protesters demanded transparency about who knew what and when.
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The mayor’s office declined to comment on the contents of the video.
The video, made public last week by order of a Cook County judge, shows Officer Jason Van Dyke opening fire even as the 17-year-old McDonald, who was carrying a small folding knife, veered away from police.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has clarified his earlier remarks, saying the city would welcome U.S. Justice Department involvement in helping restore trust in the Chicago police.
“I cried for the young man who was brutally shot; cried for the thousands of police officers who are honest and hard-working, put themselves in harm’s way to preserve and protect us, and whose reputation gets damaged by the behavior of a few bad people; cried for the violence that is tearing apart so many of our communities”, the governor said.
McCarthy’s exit came after unrest throughout the city over McDonald’s death and has left Mayor Rahm Emanuel with the task of replacing the head of police.
Van Dyke reportedly shot McDonald 16 times.
Meanwhile, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D) appealed Tuesday to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to open a civil rights investigation, declaring that “trust in the Chicago Police Department is broken, especially in communities of color”.
“You have unions that, whenever there’s a police shooting, they give you a story that makes the public think in every case of a policeman shooting someone that a male black subject was running down the street holding his trousers and he turned around and aimed a gun at a policeman”, said retired sergeant Michael Davis.
“We have a process”, Emanuel told reporters from Politico in an interview before an audience in Chicago, reports the news station. There are systemic challenges that will require sustained reform. The group will work to improve the independent oversight of police misconduct, deal with officers with repeated complaints and recommend the release of videos of police-involved incidents.
Officer Van Dyke was released from jail on Monday after posting bond on a $1.5 million bail.
“Hillary Clinton is deeply troubled by the shooting of Laquan McDonald and the outstanding questions related to both the shooting and the video”, Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement. He claims the initial Freedom of Information Act request filed by the family for the video’s release was ignored and then denied. LaQuan McDonald’s killing and video only provided undeniable proof.
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Holmes filed a federal lawsuit against Chicago police shortly after the shooting of her son. “The mothers I met recently in Chicago are right: We can not go on like this”. “I still support her, and that question of whether I continue to have her support is up to her, but I feel pretty confident I do”, he said.
