(Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images)
Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel is facing mounting criticism from activists and allies of the black community who say he should be held accountable for delaying justice in the case of Laquan McDonald, a teenager who died 13 months ago after being shot 16 times by a Chicago police officer.
A court order forced Chicago city officials to release squad car video of the gruesome death, which they did on Tuesday, hours after the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office charged Officer Jason Van Dyke with first-degree murder in the teen’s killing. Viewers were outraged by how much the footage conflicted with the police department’s initial account of the shooting, which claimed that McDonald was acting strangely and lunged at police before shots were fired.
The video, which Emanuel’s administration and the state’s attorney’s office have long fought to keep from being publicly released, instead shows 17-year-old McDonald carrying a small knife and walking away from officers before Van Dyke opens fire from about 10 feet away. After McDonald falls, Van Dyke continues to shoot for at least 15 seconds….
Via Rahm Emanuel’s Learning What Happens When You Ignore Half Of The City @ Milwaukee Community Journal.