For days following the video’s release, hundreds of protesters have shut down the streets of Chicago to rally for the resignations of Emanuel and Alvarez in response to the shooting video.
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Demonstrators stage a die-in in front of City Hall during march through downtown Chicago, calling for the resignation of Mayor Emanuel. Many activists and analysts say the steps Mayor Emanuel is taking to hold Chicago police officers accountable for abuses are way too timid. Many residents, already suspicious that the circumstances of the shooting had been covered up by police, grew even more skeptical when the city released other squad vehicle dashcam videos from the scene that, like the first, lacked audio.
A member of McDonald’s family was expected to speak at a news conference at 11:15 a.m. local time (1215 ET).
The Department of Justice announced this week that is has launched a civil rights investigation into the Chicago Police Department’s pattern and practices and will focus on the use of force and accountability within the police department.
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. The police account says that the officers feared that Cedrick had been reaching for a gun, but the object turned out to be a cellphone case.
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.
Chance the Rapper brought some of Chicago’s struggles to the national stage Saturday by mentioning veteran Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke in his “Saturday Night Live” debut.
“Dreads doesn’t mean terrible”, said Hunter, referring to McDonald’s hair style. He told reporters Friday that the McDonald case is but one of many in which African-Americans have been mistreated by Chicago police.
The emails are dated December 8, 2014 – less than two months after Van Dyke killed McDonald, nearly two months before Election Day in 2015, and almost a full year before charges were finally filed against Van Dyke.
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“These people are marching because time and time again black people and people of color and poor people are being mistreated by this legal system here called the Chicago police”, Hunter said. He fired the police chief and named a new head of the independent body that investigates police conduct.
