Emanuel said the city has begun its search for a new Chicago police superintendent. We have a process called the election. But it gives Emanuel something else to talk to reporters and the public about other than the viral video of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald being shot repeatedly by officer Jason Van Dyke, much of it while the teenager lay prone in the middle of Pulaski Road on the Southwest Side. Then, just six seconds after arriving on the scene, Van Dyke jumps out of his vehicle and open fires at McDonald, who was armed with a knife and had PCP in his system, according to a criminal complaint filed in Cook County Circuit Court.
Advertisement
Although crime has decreased under McCarthy in the nation’s third largest city, the mayor said it was time for him to step down.
“Obviously, the citizens of Chicago will have to determine who should be running the city, including evaluating his commitment over the long term” to implement reforms, Earnest said.
“This is not the end of the problem, but it’s the beginning to the solution of the problem”, said Emanuel.
Van Dyke has been charged with first-degree murder in the case, and Emanuel fired Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy in response to the uproar.
In a striking claim, a representative for State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez toldPolitico their office never pushed legal action to block the footage being made public – suggesting it could have been released way earlier than it was. As part of the deal, the video was blocked from release.
Emanuel introduced McCarthy as his pick to lead the department in May 2011, replacing former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Jody Weis, who was unpopular with many rank-and-file officers who said he did not stand behind them.
Emanuel has acknowledged that he made “mistakes” during the probe but has said that an additional layer of investigation would be “misguided”. But previous year, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division’s findings revealed that there was unconstitutional policing – including use of unreasonable force and violation of people’s rights – by Newark police during the time when McCarthy was the director, as reported by the New York Times.
Van Dyke was released from jail Monday after paying the $150,000 required of his $1.5 million bail.
The CUL had also called for an investigation of the city’s police department, something Illinois’ attorney general asked the Justice department to do on Tuesday.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel responded to every question tossed his way in his first extensive interview since the video of the police killing of Laquan McDonald was released.
McCarthy has been chief since May 2011.
Advertisement
Asked how black youth might find a better future, Hunter said, “For one thing, to improve, a lot of people have to put down their guns”.
