The demonstration will be the latest in the city since Tuesday, when officials released dashcam video that shows 17-year-old Laquan McDonald being shot 16 times and prosecutors charged Officer Jason Van Dyke with first-degree murder.
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Police officer Jason Van Dyke began his incarceration under protective custody at a hospital facility segregated from the general population of Cook County Jail, the county sheriff’s office said.
The video has been described as graphic and it is feared its release will spark race riots.
The powerful Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is supporting a Black Friday march along Michigan Avenue, an upscale shopping street, organized by civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson. Strauss said even Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel deserves some blame for delaying the release of the video.
Additional rallies were planned for the annual Thanksgiving Day parade yesterday, and another for today. Police guarded the parade through Chicago’s downtown business district, which was packed with families and tourists watching high school bands playing instruments and dancing as inflatables hovered above their heads. And the charges were only announced at the deadline set by a judge for the video’s release.
“Chicago’s response to Laquan’s death appears calculated to minimize political damage to the mayor, by removing this case from the election cycle”, he said, referring to a gap between the shooting and the first-degree murder charge brought against Van Dyke on Tuesday.
Van Dyke had 20 misconduct complaints against him but he was never disciplined, according to the Citizens Police Data Project, a database of 56,000 misconduct complaints against Chicago police officers compiled by the Invisible Institute, a transparency organization.
According to court documents seen by the Associated Press, Mr Van Dyke was the subject of 18 civilian complaints over 14 years, including allegations that he used racial slurs and excessive force.
Each time a video of police brutality is released, a group of optimistic people holds out hope that perhaps, this time, a video will convince all of America that something is wrong.
“The video clearly shows Laquan walking away and he was not threatening anybody and he certainly didn’t lunge at the police officer”.
Emanuel said his office always complies and works through all information requests “in the most responsive way possible”, the newspaper reported.
Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez and the city Law Department did not respond to questions.
A protester shouts derogatory slogans at Chicago police officers standing guard outside the District 1 Police headquarters in Chicago on November 24, 2015. No sound is heard before Van Dyke opens fire and continues firing after McDonald falls to the ground. The shooting occurs off camera.
Local NAACP chapters joined the call for a federal investigation into the Police Department, CNN affiliate WGN said.
Chicago police say they are prepared to support a peaceful march and will be on hand to address traffic and public safety. Officers may also manually engage the recording system without activating the lights.
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Jay Travis has lived on the South Side of Chicago for 43 years and knows this story all too well – a young black male is killed by police and nothing is done about it. That average exceeds that of the larger cities of NY and Los Angeles. Members of the City Council’s black caucus again demanded the resignation of Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy. On average there have been 17 fatal police shootings in Chicago each year since 2007.
