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Laquan McDonald response reflects major shift in year since Ferguson riots Laquan McDonald response reflects major shift in year since Ferguson riots
(about 1 hour later)
A year to the night that Ferguson, Missouri, went up in flames after the decision not to charge a white police officer for shooting dead a black teenager, authorities in Chicago were braced on Tuesday for their own unrest after deciding to do the opposite.A year to the night that Ferguson, Missouri, went up in flames after the decision not to charge a white police officer for shooting dead a black teenager, authorities in Chicago were braced on Tuesday for their own unrest after deciding to do the opposite.
But while protesters in Illinois may seethe about the killing of Laquan Mcdonald just as intensely as those in neighbouring Missouri did over the death Michael Brown, dramatic changes to the way that homicides by police are being dealt with by state and local officials can be traced from last Thanksgiving week to this one.But while protesters in Illinois may seethe about the killing of Laquan Mcdonald just as intensely as those in neighbouring Missouri did over the death Michael Brown, dramatic changes to the way that homicides by police are being dealt with by state and local officials can be traced from last Thanksgiving week to this one.
Chicago officer Jason Van Dyke stands accused of first-degree murder, the first from his notorious department to do so in decades. State’s attorney Anita Alvarez’s decision to prosecute follows similarly dramatic developments in South Carolina, where officer Michael Slager killed Walter Scott; in Ohio, where officer Ray Tensing shot dead Samuel DuBose; and in Maryland, where six officers face trials over the violent death of Freddie Gray.Chicago officer Jason Van Dyke stands accused of first-degree murder, the first from his notorious department to do so in decades. State’s attorney Anita Alvarez’s decision to prosecute follows similarly dramatic developments in South Carolina, where officer Michael Slager killed Walter Scott; in Ohio, where officer Ray Tensing shot dead Samuel DuBose; and in Maryland, where six officers face trials over the violent death of Freddie Gray.
In all three of those cases, an apparent newfound sense of seriousness and urgency – and likely fear of chaotic protests on their own streets – has led state prosecutors swiftly to announce that they were taking drastic action against law enforcement officers whom they were accusing of clear-cut wrongdoing.In all three of those cases, an apparent newfound sense of seriousness and urgency – and likely fear of chaotic protests on their own streets – has led state prosecutors swiftly to announce that they were taking drastic action against law enforcement officers whom they were accusing of clear-cut wrongdoing.
Not for them the buck-passing that intensified the trouble in Ferguson, where county prosecutor Bob McCulloch outsourced his decision to a grand jury that was more like a secret trial – minus the cross-examination of the star witness, officer Darren Wilson.Not for them the buck-passing that intensified the trouble in Ferguson, where county prosecutor Bob McCulloch outsourced his decision to a grand jury that was more like a secret trial – minus the cross-examination of the star witness, officer Darren Wilson.
More than a dozen officers have now been charged with murder or manslaughter this year over fatal shootings, according to Philip Stinson, an associate professor of criminology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. The total represents a sharp rise from an average of about five per year over the past decade and surely reflects a genuine change in sentiment.More than a dozen officers have now been charged with murder or manslaughter this year over fatal shootings, according to Philip Stinson, an associate professor of criminology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. The total represents a sharp rise from an average of about five per year over the past decade and surely reflects a genuine change in sentiment.
So, too, does the Department of Justice’s decision to trial a new system for counting killings by police after FBI director James Comey lamented that it was “ridiculous and embarrassing” that the Guardian and Washington Post had better data on the subject than he did.So, too, does the Department of Justice’s decision to trial a new system for counting killings by police after FBI director James Comey lamented that it was “ridiculous and embarrassing” that the Guardian and Washington Post had better data on the subject than he did.
More important than all that, however, was that in each of those cases, prosecutors were able to point to video evidence to make their case. While Chicago tried everything in their power to block the release of dashcam footage of Van Dyke in order to quell public anger rejecting among others a freedom of information request for the video from the Guardian in April it would have in any case been central to Alvarez’s prosecution. More important than all that, however, was that in each of those cases, prosecutors were able to point to video evidence to make their case - or were at least forced to act by the content of recordings that reporters are increasingly demanding as a matter of course.
While Chicago tried everything in their power to block the release of dashcam footage of Van Dyke in order to quell public anger – rejecting among others a freedom of information request for the video from the Guardian in April – it would have in any case been central to Alvarez’s prosecution.
Similar digital proof might have changed history in Ferguson.Similar digital proof might have changed history in Ferguson.
Seconds after Brown was fatally shot, a neighbour took out a cellphone and began filming his bloodied body as it rested on a road. “They said he had his hands up and everything,” the young man was recorded saying, as a crowd gathered in the midday August sun. The claim, disputed by other witnesses, was adopted by a new civil rights movement as its slogan and is still mired in controversy 15 months later.Seconds after Brown was fatally shot, a neighbour took out a cellphone and began filming his bloodied body as it rested on a road. “They said he had his hands up and everything,” the young man was recorded saying, as a crowd gathered in the midday August sun. The claim, disputed by other witnesses, was adopted by a new civil rights movement as its slogan and is still mired in controversy 15 months later.
By then, the final few minutes of Brown’s life before the fateful clash with Wilson had also been recorded, captured by a small surveillance camera rolling inside a nearby grocery shop where the 18-year-old had stolen a box of cigarillos before walking out with a friend.By then, the final few minutes of Brown’s life before the fateful clash with Wilson had also been recorded, captured by a small surveillance camera rolling inside a nearby grocery shop where the 18-year-old had stolen a box of cigarillos before walking out with a friend.
Yet the violent 90-second encounter in between these two recordings, which would unleash months of furious protests on America’s streets and return a dispute over race and criminal justice to the forefront of its politics, somehow eluded all lenses.Yet the violent 90-second encounter in between these two recordings, which would unleash months of furious protests on America’s streets and return a dispute over race and criminal justice to the forefront of its politics, somehow eluded all lenses.
Thousands of activists have pledged to do everything they can to ensure that never happens again. “Thank God for the cell phone video cameras,” said Billy Murphy, the attorney for the family of Freddie Gray, who died in Baltimore “because the truth will come out, and it’s ugly”.Thousands of activists have pledged to do everything they can to ensure that never happens again. “Thank God for the cell phone video cameras,” said Billy Murphy, the attorney for the family of Freddie Gray, who died in Baltimore “because the truth will come out, and it’s ugly”.