Hundreds of protestors hit the streets of Chicago demanding that Emanuel resign.
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La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) would amend the “Revised Cities and Villages Act of 1941” by establishing procedures to recall the Mayor of Chicago.
On Wednesday, Emanuel told a special City Council meeting he took full responsibility for the circumstances surrounding the teenager’s death. I own it… But if we’re also going to begin the healing the process, the first step in that journey is my step.
Emanuel’s speech on Wednesday, however, was not just about what happened the night of October 20, 2014, when Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke killed McDonald.
When announcing charges against Van Dyke, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez said McDonald’s knife was folded.
Mr Emanuel welcomed the investigation, which he said would bolster efforts to create a police force that “keeps the community safe while respecting the civil rights of every Chicagoan”, he said in a press release reported by the Associated Press. The mayor has denied the claim and acknowledged Wednesday that he should have pressed for prosecutors to wrap up their investigation sooner so the video could be made public.
But his contrition did little to ease the anger in the streets. Officers guarded the doors to the Chicago Board of Trade as demonstrators approached.
Emanuel called on city officials to have a “painful but honest reckoning of what went wrong … over decades”. “I do think that if this continues, certainly he would never get re-elected again with 55 percent of the black vote”.
“At this point – in this juncture in the city – he has become an issue rather than dealing with the issue”, he said. “We shouldn’t have to live like this”.
For Emanuel, this crisis is an unwanted opportunity to show that he can govern as well as he plays politics.
Chief John Escalante, McCarthy’s deputy, will lead the department until a new superintendent is appointed.
Over the last two weeks, the public outcry for police reform has resulted in an investigation of the department by the U.S. Department of Justice, the resignation of officials including the superintendent of police, and intensive pressure on Emanuel to show he takes reform measures seriously in light of continuing cases.
In news conferences, he has appeared worn down, fumbling answers to reporters’ questions or avoiding them entirely by walking away, with cameras rolling.
Asked later what he apologized for, Emanuel said, “The innocent loss of the life of a young man and a systematic breakdown of a system that was supposed to safeguard the protection of life…”
Alvarez said the FBI decided not to take part in the criminal investigation previous year after its agents had viewed the video of Johnson being shot twice. But he said the speech alone isn’t what matters. “You earn trust back with actions”.
“Even more so, to stand against obstruction of the law for the goal of political gain”, Czworniak said. She said she wanted to add her voice to the protests in part because she has a son who is Latino and fears for his safety when he gets older.
“He definitely won’t run unopposed, and it will be a viable candidate”, said Cobb, who is black.
At the time, he pledged to listen more and to “bridge the gaps between the things that divide us”. The charges came 13 months after the shooting. The march was one of the largest in Chicago since the release of the video.
Just as it had in McDonald’s shooting, the city had argued in court filings since the shooting 14 months ago that releasing the video would inflame the public and jeopardize the officer’s right to a fair trial if he was charged, court records show.
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They included everything Chicago’s task force has agreed consider: “independent oversight of police misconduct”; best practices for identifying officers with repeated complaints; and “best practices for release of videos of police-involved incidents”.
