More than 50 protesters gathered on a bridge over the Chicago River before heading down Michigan Avenue, which is crowded with last-minute Christmas shoppers.
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Cop Indicted on Six Murder Counts for Laquan McDonald Shooting Death
Meanwhile, both Van Dyke’s attorney and McDonald’s family said they would like to see Van Dyke’s trial heard outside Cook County. Alvarez has responded that any investigation into a police shooting is “highly complex” and presents unique legal issues.
Protesters marching on Michigan Avenue want Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez to resign their positions.
Relatives of Alan Kurdi arrive in Vancouver later today
He is the father of Alan Kurdi, the Syrian toddler whose photograph galvanized the world around the refugee crisis. The family is just a few of the tens of thousands of people that the Canadian government has promised to resettle.
The demonstration was peaceful, but after the main march concluded, police scuffled with a few dozen protesters who were trying to block the entrance to an H&M store and to obstruct traffic both ways on Michigan Avenue, a major thoroughfare.
Winter Storm Set To Move Across Iowa Monday
The snow will overspread the region between 8 p.m. and midnight, changing to sleet and freezing rain between 6 and 10 a.m. On Friday, New Year’s Day, it will be partly sunny with a high near 38.
The Chicago police officer charged with murder in the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was due back in court Tuesday morning to enter a formal plea.
Public outcry has been furious since a dashcam video was released last month showing Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times. The officer shot McDonald 16 times shortly after arriving at the scene on a street where other police officers had been following McDonald “as he walked the streets carrying a knife and refusing to follow orders”, as member station WBEZ has reported.
Since assuming command of the department early this month in the fallout over the McDonald shooting video, interim police Superintendent John Escalante vowed that officers who fail to follow procedures for maintaining the video system will face disciplinary action. “They wake up and say, ‘OK, they’re hitting us in our pockets.’ And because we believe the Emanuel administration really values profit over people”, the Rev. Gregory Livingston, Coalition for a New Chicago, said. Even body cameras – coming soon to more Chicago officers as part of a pilot program – depend on police flicking on the devices in time to film encounters with civilians.
Officer Jason Van Dyke has been charged with first-degree murder in the October 2014 killing of Laquan McDonald. On Thursday audio was released of an officer’s radio call requesting a Taser to restrain the 17-year-old.
Tucker was one of two demonstrators arrested Thursday on misdemeanor charges.
Local station WMAQ-TV said that it obtained audio of the dispatch calls through a Freedom of Information Act Request.
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More than a hundred people took part in the protest, according to the Chicago Tribune. The city’s population is about one-third African American. Protesters say Clark, who was unarmed, was wearing handcuffs when he was shot; the Police Department denies the allegation.
