Protesters urge shopping-district shutdown

Protesters block a Chicago street Tuesday evening during a march over the killing of Laquan McDonald by police officer Jason Van Dyke.
Protesters block a Chicago street Tuesday evening during a march over the killing of Laquan McDonald by police officer Jason Van Dyke.

CHICAGO -- Small groups of demonstrators gathered again Wednesday to protest the death of a black teen shot by a white police officer.

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They also urged supporters to join them in trying to shut down Chicago's famous Michigan Avenue shopping district during Friday's holiday shopping bonanza.

About two dozen protesters gathered outside Mayor Rahm Emanuel's City Hall office on the day after authorities released a graphic squad-car video showing the officer shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times. Officer Jason Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder.

The group held banners showing photos of other black people fatally shot by police in Chicago and elsewhere. Several protesters said they were parents of black men who were killed by Chicago officers.

"You cannot kill our children and expect us to be quiet any longer," protester Quovadis Green said. "It is unacceptable."

On Wednesday evening, police took two protesters into custody as the group marched through the financial district.

Activist Mark Carter called on people to "rise up" and shut down the Magnificent Mile shopping area on Black Friday. He said protesters also planned to target the Board of Trade and other landmarks.

Carter and others want the Department of Justice to investigate the Chicago Police Department and its history of covering up bad behavior.

The Urban League of Chicago joined in the call for a federal investigation, alleging a pattern of "discriminatory harassment" against black people.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson said other officers involved in McDonald's death should be fired or at least suspended. He also wants a special prosecutor appointed to the case, complaining that Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez took too long to file a murder charge in the shooting, which happened 13 months ago.

Leaders of about a dozen community groups met Wednesday night to try to decide on a unified approach. After the meeting, about 100 protesters marched about a half-mile to Chicago police headquarters. A line of officers walked beside them to ensure they remained on the sidewalk.

President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he was "deeply disturbed" by the video footage.

Obama said in a Facebook post that he is asking Americans to "keep those who've suffered tragic loss in our thoughts and prayers" this Thanksgiving "and to be thankful for the overwhelming majority of men and women in uniform who protect our communities with honor."

Obama said he is grateful to the people of Chicago, his hometown, for keeping protests peaceful.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton also weighed in, saying in an emailed statement that McDonald's family and Chicago residents "deserve justice and accountability."

Clinton added that officers across the country are doing their duty honorably "without resorting to unnecessary force."

In the dash-cam video, which has no audio, McDonald appears jogging down a street where police vehicles are stopped in the middle of the roadway. Almost immediately, one of the officers appears to fire from close range. McDonald spins around and collapses on the pavement.

The car with the camera rolls forward until the officers are out of the frame. McDonald can be seen lying on the ground, moving a little. Small puffs of smoke are seen coming off his body as the officer continues firing.

Hundreds of protesters weaved through downtown streets Tuesday night into Wednesday morning after the dash-cam video's release.

The march halted traffic for a few minutes on Interstate 290 in and out of the city, just east of the bridge over the Chicago River, around midnight, but the protest moved mostly between 18th Street and downtown.

Many of the marchers chanted, "16 times."

Among the protesters was Justin Taylor, an 18-year-old University of Iowa student who returned home to Chicago for Thanksgiving.

"It's powerful we're coming together," Taylor said. "Things like this happen too often."

City officials spent months arguing that the footage could not be made public until the conclusion of several investigations. After the judge's order, the investigations were quickly wrapped up and a charge announced.

Alvarez said concern about the impending release prompted her to move up the announcement of the murder charge.

But she also defended the 13 months it took to charge Van Dyke, insisting she made a decision "weeks ago" to charge him and the video's ordered release did not influence that.

Some community leaders questioned that assertion.

"This is a panicky reaction to an institutional crisis within the criminal justice system," said Jackson, who said he hoped to see large but peaceful demonstrations.

Months after McDonald's death, the city agreed to a $5 million settlement with his family, even before relatives filed a lawsuit, a move that also drew deep skepticism from the community.

At the time of McDonald's death, police were responding to complaints about someone breaking into cars and stealing radios.

Van Dyke, who was denied bail Tuesday, was the only officer of the several who were on the scene to open fire.

An autopsy report showed McDonald was shot at least twice in his back, and PCP, a hallucinogenic drug, was found in his system.

Van Dyke's attorney, Dan Herbert, maintains his client feared for his life and acted lawfully and that the video does not tell the whole story.

"People viewing this videotape will have the brilliance and benefit of hindsight 20/20 vision," Herbert said. "This is not a murder case, despite what you heard in the courtroom. It's truly not a murder case and we feel that we will be very successful in defending this case."

After the shooting, Van Dyke was stripped of his police powers and assigned to desk duty.

Also on Wednesday, a Cook County judge dismissed a charge against a man accused of hitting a police officer during a protest.

Malcolm London, 22, was among five people arrested during the demonstrations. He was charged with aggravated battery of a police officer. Police said London struck an officer during a protest Tuesday night in downtown Chicago.

Judge Peggy Chiampas said during a hearing Wednesday afternoon that the state's attorney's office recommended the charge be dismissed and told London he was free to go.

Prosecutors did not say why their office recommended dropping the charge.

Information for this article was contributed by Don Babwin, Jason Keyser, Sophia Tareen, Michael Tarm and Carla K. Johnson of The Associated Press and by Dawn Rhodes, Tony Briscoe and Peter Nickeas of the Chicago Tribune.

A Section on 11/26/2015

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