Hundreds of protesters flooded the streets in downtown Chicago today, demanding Mayor Rahm Emanuel resign, reports NBC Chicago.
The protests began after Mayor Emanuel publicly apologized for the death of Laquan McDonald, 17, who was shot and killed by police in 2014. Many protesters believe Emanuel may have helped cover up the shooting of McDonald, and would not have been reelected in April 2015 if the video of McDonald's shooting had been made public.
Chicago Police Department’s chief of detectives retired suddenly Dec. 7, following the resignation of the head of the Independent Police Reivew Authority on Dec. 6 and the ouster of former Chicago Police Superintendent Garry F. McCarthy on Dec. 1
Demonstrators gathered at Daley Plaza at noon and started marching on North Dearborn. Police briefly detained two people during the protest near Dearborn and Washington as several other activists gathered around the vehicle chanting "Hell no, we won't go." The two demonstrators were later released.
"It's bigger than the shooting of Laquan MCDonald, the murder of Percy Coleman's son, it's bigger than Ronnie man, Ronald Johnson," said Willie J.R. Fleming with the Anti-Eviction Campaign. "It's a cultural corruption. It's the daily practice and procedures of the Chicago Police Department, the City Council of Chicago and the mayor's office."
… About 200 protesters gathered outside council chambers during Emanuel's special address to the city council and demanded to be let inside. They said one mayoral speech can't fix decades of police corruption that led to 17-year-old McDonald's death at the hands of officer Jason Van Dyke.
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