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Ben Carson Claims Laquan McDonald Video Hidden From Public for ‘Political Reasons’

Emanuel, meanwhile, apologized for the Laquan McDonald shooting on Wednesday, the same day a bill was introduced in the state legislature that would create a process to recall Chicago’s mayor.

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He stopped short of calling for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s resignation.

Several prominent Chicago pastors have rejected Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s “olive branch of peace” and are demanding that his administration release yet another video in which a white police officer fatally shot a black teenager.

Members of McDonald’s family are expected to speak at a news conference at a church at 11:15 a.m. local time (1215 ET), media reports said.

Speaking on behalf of the family, Hunter also thanked those who have been demanding justice for McDonald during daily protests in Chicago.

The mayor has said he did not want to jeopardize what was then a joint investigation by Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez and the Chicago U.S. attorney’s office.

Chicago police spokesman Thomas Sweeney says he hasn’t been notified of any arrests related to the protests as of Friday evening.

But outrage has mounted over the McDonald shooting and police misconduct overall.

Alvarez has been criticized for waiting 13 months to charge Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke with McDonald’s murder, in an incident caught on video.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Thursday that Obama’s been following the controversy and fallout of the Laquan McDonald shooting video and “like other citizens of that fine city, he’s concerned”.

Chicago officials fought the release of the video, arguing that it could interfere with any resulting court case. A Cook County judge ordered the release of it on November 24.

The Department of Justice is investigating the circumstances of the shooting, as well as the police department as a whole.

Hunter said McDonald was raised by his great-grandmother and, despite a tough life, was gentle, loving and fond of telling jokes.

Emanuel has recently taken steps to reform the police department, including setting up a task force to review police accountability and firing the police superintendent. He fired the police chief and named a new head of the independent body that investigates police conduct.

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Grant says his father knew Laquan because the teen frequented his father’s convenience store, in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood.

Protesters march through Chicago's Loop on Dec. 10 carrying what organizers say is a banner of names of people tortured and in prison as they also call for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez to resign in the wake