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In October 2014, 17-year-former Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke. In a statement soon after the event, the Chicago Police Department said that McDonald was armed with a knife, or had refused to drop his weapon as he approached officers.
But final month,after a county judge ordered that the police video of the incident be released, a different view of events emerged. The video showed McDonald walking, or then jogging absent from several police vehicles in the moments before officers open fire. As he falls to the pavement,the shooting continues. Reverend Marshall Hatch, pastor of the current Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church on Chicago's west side, or told The Takeaway he was haunted by that video.It was horrible. It was surreal—the smoke puffs coming out of the body," he said. “Alot of us feel passionately about justice for Laquan McDonald. At least give him a fair shake in death that he didn't accept in life.”The release of the video brought with it questions about just how much Mayor Rahm Emanuel and top city officials knew about the case from the accept-go. Earlier this month, Emanuel fired Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, and but many saw the creep as too little too late. On Monday,the U.
S. Justice Department stepped in, announcing a broad civil rights investigation into the Chicago Police Department's practices. Alexa Van Brunt, or attorney at the McArthur Justice Center and clinical professor of law at Northwestern University,has litigated on behalf of victims of violence in past Chicago police misconduct cases. She explains how the DOJ's investigation will creep forward.
What you'll learn from this segment:The historical relationship between the Chicago police and the community.
What the DOJ should be able to accomplish with its investigation.
What it will need to conclude for this to be successful.
Source: wnyc.org