Hunter said a federal summit should be held in the North Lawndale neighborhood where McDonald lived.
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In this photo taken Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks during a special City Council meeting that he called to discuss a police abuse scandal in Chicago.
Protesters in the U.S. city of Chicago continue to call for justice for an African-American teenager shot 16 times by a white police officer a year ago, demanding the resignation of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
The footage was kept from the public until last month and was released upon a judge’s order. The county’s top public prosecutor announced charges against the officer just hours before the video was made public.
“He didn’t fit in his personality; the profile that Jason Van Dyke had of him – and all black boys – in his mind, ” Hunter said.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Hunter also thanked those who have been demanding justice for McDonald during daily protests in Chicago. “How can you place a value on a family member’s life”, Hunter said, addressing the city’s settlement with the family.
Hundreds of protesters marched through the streets of Chicago and staged “die-ins” on Thursday, calling for the resignation of Emanuel a day after he emotionally apologized for the police shooting of McDonald.
The release of a police video of the shooting of McDonald and the November 24 filing of a murder charge against Van Dyke came more than a year after McDonald’s death.
The young man’s mother, Tina Hunter, wasn’t at the press conference, because she is traumatized by the constant replaying of the video of her son’s senseless death on TV.
“What we’re feeling in Chicago is the real feeling of America in itself, and that is injustice towards people of color and poor people in this country”, he said, adding that the “only way to keep things like what has happened to Laquan from happening is we must have the proper resources for economic development, for housing, for health care, for mental health”.
“The agreement says… we would not release the video unless the officer was not criminally charged”, he said.
Chicago officials fought the release of the video, arguing it could interfere with any resulting court case.
Most black voters in Chicago also disapprove of the embattled mayor by 53 percent, while 56 percent of white voters in the city said they disapprove of his job performance.
Protesters began marches and rallies by calling for the resignation of Emanuel, Chicago police chief Garry McCarthy, and state attorney Anita Alvarez because of the delay.
Emanuel has set up a task force to review accountability and is conducting a nationwide search for a new police superintendent. “He tried to make you laugh”.
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McDonald’s story resonated because he represented many other black victims of police brutality, Hunter added.
