Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Tuesday asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the Chicago Police Department, a request that came on the same day Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy was sacked by the city’s mayor. The ostensible point of the meetings was to assuage fears among Chicago’s black residents about how the city had handled the case, but for Emanuel they seemed to have one other goal: to warn the leaders who represent those residents that there would be repercussions if protests got out of control. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Justice Department officials began investigating the McDonald killing just weeks after the fact.
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Preckwinkle is not alone in asking Alvarez to step down; several members of Chicago’s City Council’s black and Latino caucuses have also said they’re not pleased with how Alvarez responded to the McDonald case. When that boss is the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, you don’t have to wonder.
Alvarez herself described the video as “violent” and “chilling”, and said she opened an investigation “immediately” after seeing it. That was November 4, 2014 – more than a year before she charged Van Dyke with first-degree murder. Mr. Emanuel, grappling with a surge in shootings and murders while facing criticism for the way his department has interacted with minority communities, was pressured to dismiss Mr. McCarthy, who as recently as last week was appearing at his side during press conferences.
Protesters have expressed outrage that the video was released more than a year after the incident, and that what it shows contradicts the statements made by some Chicago police and officials, namely that McDonald had attacked police.
“Our work isn’t finished”, she said. And for a new mayor.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, (D), candidate for Democratic presidential nomination in 2015.
McDonald was shot 16 times by police officer Jason Van Dyke during an altercation on October 20, 2014.
Dean made the threat in retaliation for the fatal shooting of a black teenager by a white Chicago police officer.
Another possibility is that prosecutors are looking into whether to charge Van Dyke with violating McDonald’s civil rights.
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Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office says he will create a Task Force on Police Accountability. His office says the task force will review the Chicago Police Department’s current systems for accountability, oversight and training. He says that may have helped force the university’s hand.
