The protesters rallied in downtown Chicago, following the release of video that showed officer Jason Van Dyke shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times in October 2014.
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Chicago police say that four people were arrested during the second night of largely peaceful demonstrations following the release of a video showing last year’s shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by a police officer.
“And to be thankful for the overwhelming majority of men and women in uniform who protect our communities with honour”. The footage showed white police officer, Jason van Dyke, shooting black teenager Laquan Macdonald16 times.
Emanuel and McCarthy described the shooting of McDonald as an unusual and tragic incident and called on the public to protest peacefully, with the mayor noting that McDonald’s family had asked people not to resort to violence in the teen’s name.
“You can not kill our children and expect us to be quiet any longer”, Quovadis Green said.
The video shows him holding a knife when the police cars arrive and Mr Van Dyke emerges from his vehicle.
The problem starts in the mayor’s office; implicates the police department’s top brass, the police union and rank-and-file officers; and runs through the city’s nominally independent police review authority, which routinely dismisses allegations of police wrongdoing.
The planned Friday demonstration follows two nights of protests in the Loop and into River North after the video was made public. Dozens of men, mostly African American, said they were subjected to torture at the hands of a Chicago police squad headed by former commander Jon Burge during the 1970s, ’80s and early ’90s, and many spent years in prison.
One of the videos, out of focus as it is, appears to be from the police vehicle in which Van Dyke was a passenger.
In the most graphic of the four additional videos (below), a police officer races to the scene.
McCarthy noted that there would be no audio in the video his department was set to release.
Experts have said that Van Dyke could be also charged with violating McDonald’s civil rights.
The “chilling” video is the latest in a string of police shootings caught on camera that have sparked mass – and sometimes violent – protests and engulfed the United States in a debate over racism and the use of deadly force by police. He heads toward some police cars with flashing lights, then turns away, continuing to walk. Suddenly, one of the officers appears to fire from close range and fires at him 16 times. Puffs of smoke can be seen rising from his body, which prosecutors say is from the officer’s continued gunfire. Then McDonald can be seen lying on the ground, moving occasionally. They said a 3-inch knife with its blade folded into the handle was recovered from the scene.
The incident happened about two months after the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., by a white police officer ignited nationwide protests. London was among five people arrested on charges that included weapons possession and resisting arrest.
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They expressed anger and dismay toward the department’s leadership, and some demanded the resignation of the police superintendent.
