Rahm Emanuel
Chicago might be the next city to be hit by protests against police brutality. Several media outlets are reporting a judge has ordered the release of a video showing a Chicago police officer shooting 17-year-old old Laquan McDonald 16 times. The video shows McDonald walking away from police while holding a knife, when he was shot multiple times by Officer Jason Van Dyke. One witness said Van Dyke fired 13 shots when McDonald was down. According to The Daily Beast, Judge Franklin Valderrama has ordered the video to be released on Nov. 25.
Reportedly that Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the city would not fight the judge’s decision.
“As a result, the city’s Independent Police Review Authority promptly sent this case and the evidence to state and federal prosecutors who have been investigating it for almost a year,” said Emanuel in a statement released Thursday. “In accordance with the judge’s ruling the city will release the video by Nov, 25, which we hope will provide prosecutors time to expeditiously bring their investigation to a conclusion so Chicago can begin to heal.”
However, even Emanuel admitted the video doesn’t make the police look good.
“Police officers are entrusted to uphold the law, and to provide safety to our residents. In this case unfortunately, it appears an officer violated that trust at every level,” he said.
The video is so shocking that the city quickly paid McDonald’s family a $5 million settlement and barred lawyers from seeing it. The video is being released because Chicago journalist Brandon Smith filed a FOIA request. However, it’s missing several minutes of footage. Lawyers for the McDonald family claim police deleted 86 minutes of video.
According to The Daily Beast, many people fear Chicago will face riots when people see the video. Jeffrey Neslund, an attorney representing the McDonald family, told the Chicago Sun-Times he fears the release of the video will be followed by violent protests.
“I met with [McDonald’s mother] and Laquan’s uncle,” Neslund said, “and he was really concerned. He didn’t want to see their neighborhood burned.”
Lorenzo Davis, a former Chicago police commander and whistleblower, said the video was disturbing to watch.
“I have not seen the video,” he said. “But I’ve talked to people who have seen it, and they were horrified by what they saw. Grown men were brought to tears.”
Instead of acting like the video is the problem how about lets arrest the fuckers responsible. People wont riot if justice is swift. Tired of the police not being held responsible and everyone acting like the people are the bad guys. The people didn't shoot a kid 16 times and murder him in cold blood. Perhaps you are afraid of the wrong group of people? Those boys in blue keep killing everyone…
WHY every time the police kills a black person every one talks of rioting i am very old and i feel throughout the centuries we have produce no thinkers only thing people think of is rioting they have learn nothing after all this time very sad !!!!
Burke I am very old also, and I think you need to be posting that comment to the police since they are the ones murdering our black children and have been doing it for years. Yes we have learned something, and we are very good thinkers, learning how to stand up the police who murder our children, husbands, brothers, sisters,aunts, and uncles every chance they get. If you are as old as you claim to be, then you know why we are protesting, and rioting, unless you see nothing wrong with the police killing the black race by the hundreds, and if that's the case, you are one of the problems.
Glo Phillips
AMEN!! BUT ONE THING I NEED TO SAY IS, DO NOT RIOT AND BURN WHERE WE LIVE, RIOT AND BURN POLICE STATIONS, THERE WHITE BIG BANKS AND BUSINESSES AND WHERE THEY SHOP AT THEIR GROCERY STORES AND EXPENSIVE FURNITURE STORES, COPS HOMES AND THEIR FAMILIES. BELIEVE ME IF PEOPLE NOT HITTING THEM WHERE THEY CAN REALLY FEEL IT, NOT A DAMN THING WILL CHANGE.. MORE COPS NEED TO FALL FOR A CHANGE TO HAPPEN, IF THEY NEVER LOOSE NOTHING, THEN WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF RIOTING?
Patricia S. Maki This is not the place for this.