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Hillary Clinton on Laquan McDonald shooting: 'We cannot go on like this' Obama backs protests over 'deeply disturbing' Laquan McDonald shooting
(about 4 hours later)
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has plunged into the heated debate surrounding the police killing of a black teenager in Chicago, saying “we cannot go on like this”, following the release of a video showing Laquan McDonald being shot multiple times by an officer on the street. President Obama has said he was “deeply disturbed by the footage of the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald” in a Facebook message in which he also thanked the people of Chicago for their peaceful protests.
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has also plunged into the heated debate following the release of a video showing the black teenager being shot multiple times by a Chicago police officer, saying: “We cannot go on like this.”
She also put the death in a national context, lamenting “the loss of so many young African Americans taken too soon” in a statement released on Twitter as Chicago continued to simmer in the wake of protests on the night the video was made public.She also put the death in a national context, lamenting “the loss of so many young African Americans taken too soon” in a statement released on Twitter as Chicago continued to simmer in the wake of protests on the night the video was made public.
The city is braced for further demonstrations over the footage of 17-year-old Laquan being gunned down as he jaywalked near law enforcement, and a white Chicago officer was charged with murder in connection with the death.The city is braced for further demonstrations over the footage of 17-year-old Laquan being gunned down as he jaywalked near law enforcement, and a white Chicago officer was charged with murder in connection with the death.
“The family of Laquan McDonald and the people of Chicago deserve justice and accountability,” Clinton said.“The family of Laquan McDonald and the people of Chicago deserve justice and accountability,” Clinton said.
She added that the country needed to grapple with broader questions.She added that the country needed to grapple with broader questions.
“The mothers I met recently in Chicago are right: we cannot go on like this. All over America, there are police officers honorably doing their duty, demonstrating how to protect the public without resorting to unnecessary force. We need to learn from and build on those examples,” she said.“The mothers I met recently in Chicago are right: we cannot go on like this. All over America, there are police officers honorably doing their duty, demonstrating how to protect the public without resorting to unnecessary force. We need to learn from and build on those examples,” she said.
She spoke of a need for more effort, while appearing to lament the spate of deaths across the country that have sparked a national re-examination of policing and race relations since a series of police killings sparked unrest and protest from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and elsewhere over the past 16 months. Obama reiterated this, asking Americans to “be thankful for the overwhelming majority of men and women in uniform who protect our communities with honor”.
“The loss of so many young African Americans taken too soon should reaffirm our commitment to press forward for progress,” Clinton said. He added: “I’m personally grateful to the people of my hometown for keeping protests peaceful.”
Meanwhile in Chicago, prosecutors dropped aggravated battery charges against activist and poet Malcolm London, who was arrested during demonstrations overnight on Tuesday. In Chicago, prosecutors dropped aggravated battery charges against activist and poet Malcolm London, who was arrested during demonstrations overnight on Tuesday.
“You are free to go,” judge Peggy Chiampas told London on Wednesday afternoon after he appeared in a packed courthouse.“You are free to go,” judge Peggy Chiampas told London on Wednesday afternoon after he appeared in a packed courthouse.
London was arrested after police said he punched an officer in the face. Protests at his arrest were voiced by activists, city aldermen and thousands on social media.London was arrested after police said he punched an officer in the face. Protests at his arrest were voiced by activists, city aldermen and thousands on social media.
Demonstrations are expected outside city hall on Wednesday, and others are being planned to block the city’s main shopping thoroughfare, Michigan Avenue, during the traditional post-Thanksgiving spending bonanza on Friday. Demonstrations were expected outside city hall on Wednesday, and others were being planned to block the city’s main shopping thoroughfare, Michigan Avenue, during the traditional post-Thanksgiving spending bonanza on Friday.
Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said he hoped to see “massive” but peaceful protests.Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said he hoped to see “massive” but peaceful protests.
Chicago’s mayor, Rahm Emanuel, warned that the city’s residents “will have to make important judgments about our city and ourselves – and go forward”.Chicago’s mayor, Rahm Emanuel, warned that the city’s residents “will have to make important judgments about our city and ourselves – and go forward”.
The shocking video showing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald being gunned down by police was made public on Tuesday on the same day that a white Chicago officer was charged with murder in the case. The shocking video showing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald being gunned down by police was made public on Tuesday on the same day a white Chicago officer was charged with murder in the case.
The rare decision to bring a murder charge against a member of Chicago law enforcement after the deadly shooting of a resident perhaps contributed to the peaceful and relatively small nature of the demonstration that stretched into the early hours of Wednesday, as agitated crowds gathered in streets, stopped traffic in downtown Chicago and chanted. The rare decision to bring a murder charge against a member of Chicago law enforcement perhaps contributed to the peaceful and relatively small nature of the demonstration that stretched into the early hours of Wednesday, as agitated crowds gathered in streets, stopped traffic in downtown Chicago and chanted.
The video made public on judge’s orders on Tuesday, which lasts six minutes and 54 seconds, shows the confrontation on 20 October 2014 between the teenager and two armed police officers. Laquan is seen striding down the middle of a two-way street and appears to be carrying a knife when the dashboard camera of a police patrol vehicle records the moment that two officers point handguns at him.The video made public on judge’s orders on Tuesday, which lasts six minutes and 54 seconds, shows the confrontation on 20 October 2014 between the teenager and two armed police officers. Laquan is seen striding down the middle of a two-way street and appears to be carrying a knife when the dashboard camera of a police patrol vehicle records the moment that two officers point handguns at him.
Laquan turns briefly toward one of the officers and is then shot, the impact of the first bullet apparently spinning him around before he collapses on the street. A puff of smoke or dust can be seen rising near his body as a bullet hits the ground. The camera continues to focus on his prone body as the officers, now out of frame, shoot him multiple times. An autopsy report from the Cook County medical examiner’s office showed Laquan was shot 16 times.Laquan turns briefly toward one of the officers and is then shot, the impact of the first bullet apparently spinning him around before he collapses on the street. A puff of smoke or dust can be seen rising near his body as a bullet hits the ground. The camera continues to focus on his prone body as the officers, now out of frame, shoot him multiple times. An autopsy report from the Cook County medical examiner’s office showed Laquan was shot 16 times.
On Tuesday night activists took up the chant “16 shots” as they formed a human circle at a busy intersection in Chicago. “Right now, black people are angry. Right now, what is important is young black people,” activist Veronica Morris Moore shouted in the centre of the ring of protesters. Documents filed in court describing the video’s contents said that for 14 to 15 seconds the officer, Jason Van Dyke, unloaded his entire gun into the teenager, who is seen lying facedown on the ground, his arms and legs jerking from the impact of the shots.
By 9.30pm there had been no serious escalation, but tensions rose during brief moments of pushing between police officers and protesters, several of whom were detained. Of the eight or more officers on the scene, Van Dyke is the only one to have discharged his weapon, although a colleague can be seen with his gun drawn and pointed at Laquan.
Demonstrations began to wind down after five hours but flared again when a local leader was suddenly arrested. Malcolm London, a member of the social justice group Black Youth Project 100, was detained just as a majority of people began making their way home.
Some of the remaining activists tried to stop him being taken away by linking arms and sitting around the police vehicle. Activists told the Guardian they were dragged out of the way by officers.
Chicago police would not comment on the circumstances in which London was being held but said he was allowed to meet with his lawyers.
Immediately after London was driven away, about 75 people began marching west through downtown Chicago towards a highway that runs through the city, where they assembled to disrupt traffic.
Earlier, documents filed in court describing the video’s contents said that for 14 to 15 seconds the officer, Jason Van Dyke, unloaded his entire gun into the teenager, who is seen lying facedown on the ground, his arms and legs jerking from the impact of the shots. Of the eight or more officers on the scene, Van Dyke is the only one to have discharged his weapon, although a colleague can be seen with his gun drawn and pointed at Laquan.
The video ends shortly after a final puff of smoke rises from the ground and one of the officers moves forward and appears to kick an object from Laquan’s right hand.The video ends shortly after a final puff of smoke rises from the ground and one of the officers moves forward and appears to kick an object from Laquan’s right hand.
The footage was released after a dramatic day in Chicago that saw Van Dyke indicted on a first-degree murder charge. He was denied bail at a hearing in the city’s main criminal courthouse hours after the state’s attorney, Anita Alvarez, announced the charges against him. On Tuesday, Van Dyke was indicted on a first-degree murder charge and denied bail at a hearing in the city’s main criminal courthouse hours after the state’s attorney, Anita Alvarez, announced the charges against him.
Hours later, city officials at a hastily arranged press conference condemned the actions of the officer but warned protesters to remain calm. City officials and community leaders had been bracing for the release of the video, fearing an outbreak of unrest and demonstrations similar to those in Ferguson, Baltimore and other cities after black men were killed by police. A judge had ordered last week that the footage must be released by 25 November.
“People have a right to be angry,” said police superintendent Garry McCarthy. “People have a right to protest. People have a right to free speech but they do not have a right to commit criminal acts.”
City officials and community leaders had been bracing for the release of the video showing the 2014 shooting, fearing an outbreak of unrest and demonstrations similar to what occurred in Ferguson, Baltimore and other cities after black men were killed by police. A judge had ordered last week that the footage must be released by 25 November.
“Anyone who is there to uphold the law cannot act like they’re above the law,” said Emanuel at a press conference ahead of the video’s release. “I want to say one thing: there are men and women both in leadership positions and in rank and file who follow and live by that principle every day. Jason Van Dyke does not represent the police department.”“Anyone who is there to uphold the law cannot act like they’re above the law,” said Emanuel at a press conference ahead of the video’s release. “I want to say one thing: there are men and women both in leadership positions and in rank and file who follow and live by that principle every day. Jason Van Dyke does not represent the police department.”
The announcement of the murder charge and slow release of details of the video before the actual dashcam footage appeared timed to lessen the chances for violent reactions. Laquan’s family has called for calm.
“With release of this video,” Alvarez said on Tuesday at a press conference before the video’s release, “it’s really important for public safety that the citizens of Chicago know that this officer is being held responsible for his actions.
“I have absolutely no doubt that this video will tear at the hearts of Chicagoans.”
Since the death of Laquan, the Chicago police union and the lawyer representing the officer have maintained that Van Dyke felt the teenager presented a serious danger to himself and other officers.
“I can’t speak to why the [other] officers didn’t shoot,” the lawyer representing Van Dyke, Daniel Herbet, told reporters on Friday, according to the Chicago Tribune. “But I certainly can speak to why my client shot, and it is he believed in his heart of hearts that he was in fear for his life, that he was concerned about the lives of [other] police officers.”
Last Thursday, a judge had ordered the dashcam recording to be released by 25 November after city officials argued for months that it could not be made public until the conclusion of several investigations.
The video had not been seen by anyone outside of the investigation or city officials until Tuesday – not even by Laquan’s mother, who had publicly argued against the release of the video, saying she feared violent protests.
On Monday, Emanuel called together community leaders to appeal for help calming the emotions that have built up over the shooting.
Some attendees of the meeting said afterwards that city officials waited too long after Laquan was shot to get them involved.
“You had this tape for a year and you are only talking to us now because you need our help keeping things calm,” one of the ministers, Corey Brooks, said after the meeting.
Ira Acree, who described the meeting with Emanuel as “very tense, very contentious”, said the mayor expressed concerns about the prospect of any demonstrations getting out of control.
Another minister who attended, Jedidiah Brown, said emotions were running so high that there would be no stopping major protests once the video was released.
In April 2015, the FBI announced a joint investigation with the Cook County state’s attorney’s office and the city’s Independent Police Review Authority into the shooting. Two days later the city council approved a $5m settlement for Laquan’s family, though they had not filed a lawsuit. Chicago’s corporation counsel, Stephen Patton, said the footage had prompted the city’s decision to settle.
Van Dyke is the first on-duty officer to be charged with murder while working for the Chicago police department in nearly 35 years.Van Dyke is the first on-duty officer to be charged with murder while working for the Chicago police department in nearly 35 years.
Since the incident Van Dyke has been on paid desk leave while both federal and state investigations into the incident took place. Since the incident he has been on paid desk leave while both federal and state investigations into the incident took place.
Chicago police also moved late on Monday to discipline a second officer who had shot and killed an unarmed black woman in 2012, in another incident causing tensions between the department and minority communities. McCarthy recommended firing officer Dante Servin for the shooting of 22-year-old Rekia Boyd, saying Servin showed “incredibly poor judgment” even though a jury had acquitted him of involuntary manslaughter and other charges last April.
The fears of unrest stem from longstanding tensions between the Chicago police and minority communities, partly due to the department’s reputation for brutality, particularly involving black residents. Dozens of men, mostly African American, said they were subjected to torture at the hands of a Chicago police squad headed by former commander Jon Burge from the 1970s to the early 1990s, and many spent years in prison. Burge was eventually convicted of lying about the torture and served four years in prison.
The Associated Press contributed to this reportThe Associated Press contributed to this report