Family of teen shot by Chicago cop joins calls for change
CHICAGO: The family of a black teenager shot 16 times by a white Chicago police officer on Friday joined the call for change in local leadership and policing in the city and nationwide, weeks after a video of the 2014 killing set off days of protests.
Laquan McDonald was shot in October 2014 by police Officer Jason Van Dyke, who is charged with first-degree murder. Squad-car footage was released late last month upon a judge’s order and there have been protests almost daily since. Protesters allege a cover-up and have called for the resignation of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.
The Rev Marvin Hunter, who is McDonald’s great uncle, said at a news conference on Friday that “what we’re feeling in Chicago is the real feeling of America itself, and that’s injustice against people of colour”. He also said there are “thousands of Laquan McDonalds”.
The family has stayed largely out of the spotlight since the video was released on Nov 24, but about a dozen of them stood behind Rev Hunter on Friday. A few activists wore T-shirts that read “Rahm Failed Us.”
One notable absence was McDonald’s mother, whom Rev Hunter said is “hurting and traumatised by the constant reminder of the senseless death of her son”.
Since the video’s release, McDonald’s death became another example in the current debate over gun violence and treatment of African-Americans by the police. Protesters have turned the shooting into a rallying cry, their chants of “16 shots and a cover-up” becoming as familiar as “I can’t breathe” became after the video that showed Eric Garner being taken down by a New York police officer in a fatal chokehold.
The city agreed to a US$5 million (180 million baht) settlement with McDonald’s family earlier this year without a lawsuit being filed. Mr Hunter downplayed that on Friday, saying the money that really matters should come in the form of government resources to foster economic development and keep such deaths from happening.
Chicago officials fought the release of the video, arguing it could interfere with any resulting court case. Acting on a judge’s order, the city released it just hours after Ms Alvarez announced charges against the officer.
A lawyer for McDonald’s family said they, too, did not want the video made public initially because they were still grieving.
Ms Alvarez has defended the delay in pressing charges against Mr Van Dyke, calling it a complex investigation. Mr Emanuel apologised this week that the incident occurred under his administration. He fired the police chief and named a new head of the police review agency that investigates police conduct. But protests have continued.
Earlier last week, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the Department of Justice would investigate whether the Chicago Police Department’s practices violate federal and constitutional law.