Americas

Americas

Chicago Protesters Demand Mayor Resign Over McDonald Shooting

24 December 2015 21:28 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Protesters plan to close Chicago’s Magnificent Mile on Christmas Eve and demand Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s resignation over an alleged cover-up in the police killing of Laquan McDonald, Coalition for a New Chicago President Gregory Livingston told, APA reports quoting Sputnik.

"We don’t need to just see more and more and more before we understand the patterns that exist within this administration and the things this administration allows the police department to do," Livingston, whose group organized the protest, said.

For weeks, protesters on the Magnificent Mile have called on Emanuel to resign following the release of video footage showing a Chicago police officer shooting 17-year-old McDonald 16 times on October 20, 2014.

Officer Jason Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder more than a year later after the video emerged, prompting demonstrations against police brutality and unchecked deadly use of force.

"Our marches have learned from Baltimore and Ferguson and that’s why they’ve been so wonderfully peaceful and organized and at the same time, impactful and effective," Livingston noted.

Critics and activists argue Emanuel withheld the dash-cam footage showing the repeated shooting of McDonald until late November 2015. He was reelected to a second term as mayor on February 20.