Fire Pat Camden and put a restraining order on him to keep him from the scene of any type of shooting.
The protests that are going on now in Chicago are nothing compared to what will happen when officer Van Dyke is found not guilty in the first degree murder of Laquan McDonald. Yes - not guilty. And this will happen because of Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alverez. After taking more than a year to bring charges against officer Van Dyke, she then charges him with first degree murder - not second degree murder. This is called "over charging". It is a tactic that is used by prosecutors when they DON'T WANT A CONVICTION. Such a move is unreviewable by courts. To be convicted of first degree murder, the prosecution has to prove that officer Van Dyke woke up that morning and planned to kill Mr. McDonald. The crime has to be premeditated. When officer Van Dyke is found not guilty, he is a free man since a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime. That's called double jeopardy. However, if Ms. Alverez charged officer Van Dyke with second degree murder, she would get a conviction. BUT, she would never get another conviction in Chicago as not one police officer in Chicago would ever work with her again as a witness to any arrests in that city. Yes, that 1 year of not bringing charges means something.
1
Respect for authority seems to be steadily decaying.
2
I'm always amazed at police chiefs and superintendents who wear four or five stars on their collars. I'm always tempted to ask if they've considered a swagger stick or a Field Marshall's baton as a fashion accessory. Perhaps an ascot and beret?
For styling cues I'd inform that that Herman Goering's baton is on display at the West Point Museum. Though Herman's is considered a bit over the top. The Duke of Wellington perhaps? He knew that less was more.
I figure it likely I'd get tossed from the news conference.
For styling cues I'd inform that that Herman Goering's baton is on display at the West Point Museum. Though Herman's is considered a bit over the top. The Duke of Wellington perhaps? He knew that less was more.
I figure it likely I'd get tossed from the news conference.
This city needs to reviewed by the Feds. The citizens need objectives eyes doing the looking.
1
No one wants to tell it like it is in these situations.
The truth is that few people care when someone is shot by police after acting totally irrationality violent as this.
The police aren't there to baby criminals. They're not PHD Psychologists. They're working class joe's who fear for they're lives every time they have to confront one of these erratic young out of control violent criminals. Police know first hand the crime rate of these individuals. All of us NY Times readers never have to confront these guys. It must seem so easy on paper for the armchair critics.
I say go do their job or shut up.
The truth is that few people care when someone is shot by police after acting totally irrationality violent as this.
The police aren't there to baby criminals. They're not PHD Psychologists. They're working class joe's who fear for they're lives every time they have to confront one of these erratic young out of control violent criminals. Police know first hand the crime rate of these individuals. All of us NY Times readers never have to confront these guys. It must seem so easy on paper for the armchair critics.
I say go do their job or shut up.
1
Democrat city, Democrat county. Corrupt to the core. Black leaders are Democrats and feed from the government trough. Black populace suffers under the yolk. It's not the Koch brothers that are overseers on this plantation.
Chicago is a great fishbowl to study. I believe in the coming years every city large and small will face these problems. A a large populace of people with little or no moral fortitude and a very healthy disrespect for any kind of law and authority. Policing will be virtually impossible as we now seem to focus on the very small incidence of events like this in comparison to the actual number of interventions that occur on a daily basis between police and citizens.
We need to face the facts, police are certainly not infallible but at the same time a vast majority are good and honest people with a genuine interest in doing the job the right way. Spotlighting this incident in the press like it is being done is painting all police as the gestapo and this could not be further from the truth. and while i know more than a few cops that should not be in the job. 99 percent are true professionals, not murderers like this cop was.
With all due respect if Emanuel is not going to give the police the guidance, leadership, authority and process to end the violence in his city he should resign as well, not just shoot the messenger...no pun intended
We need to face the facts, police are certainly not infallible but at the same time a vast majority are good and honest people with a genuine interest in doing the job the right way. Spotlighting this incident in the press like it is being done is painting all police as the gestapo and this could not be further from the truth. and while i know more than a few cops that should not be in the job. 99 percent are true professionals, not murderers like this cop was.
With all due respect if Emanuel is not going to give the police the guidance, leadership, authority and process to end the violence in his city he should resign as well, not just shoot the messenger...no pun intended
I bet Emanuel will go too.
Not gonna happen anytime soon. The folks who live here see things differently than the folks who seldom think about Chicago.
The Admiral erred so badly that the Captain had to be shot!!!
3
Another empty symbolic firing that will not make our cities any safer.
Go ahead progressives, jump all over the Chicago PD and Illinois politics and so on and so on. It may make you all feel better to join each other in judgment, but the streets of Chicago will not be one bit safer by purging whites who happen to be in charge of the dept.
It's gutless to not demand that the black urban culture examine itself first before demanding institutional change.
There are bad cops out there and they must be removed from the job but all I see in the BLM movement is becoming a house of cards movement.
If and when BLM goes to the urban community and urges wholesale changes in the culture of "don't snitch" along with responsible behavior, then BLM will matter.
Go ahead progressives, jump all over the Chicago PD and Illinois politics and so on and so on. It may make you all feel better to join each other in judgment, but the streets of Chicago will not be one bit safer by purging whites who happen to be in charge of the dept.
It's gutless to not demand that the black urban culture examine itself first before demanding institutional change.
There are bad cops out there and they must be removed from the job but all I see in the BLM movement is becoming a house of cards movement.
If and when BLM goes to the urban community and urges wholesale changes in the culture of "don't snitch" along with responsible behavior, then BLM will matter.
2
"Black urban culture"?? There is nothing wrong with "black urban culture" just as there is nothing wrong with white urban culture or Latino urban culture. There is nothing to fix with urban culture. What needs to be fixed is racist ideology that type casts everything urban as bad and everything black as urban. Your commentary is typical of those who are driven by their fear and internal bias towards people of color. Is crime a problem in the urban setting? Of course, but that isn't just a black issue. Your suggestion that it is, is the issue.
1
Hopefully, McCarthy will be afforded the opportunity to give his side of the story at some point.
To my mind, the issue is not the delay in releasing the video. The video should not have been released prior to the case being adjudicated. Rather, the problem is in the delay in the investigation and decision to prosecute the case. Was that under McCarthy's control or was the State Attorney General responsible?
Emmanuel's solution - fire the commissioner and then bring in Duval Patrick, a familiar face from his and Obama's clique.
To my mind, the issue is not the delay in releasing the video. The video should not have been released prior to the case being adjudicated. Rather, the problem is in the delay in the investigation and decision to prosecute the case. Was that under McCarthy's control or was the State Attorney General responsible?
Emmanuel's solution - fire the commissioner and then bring in Duval Patrick, a familiar face from his and Obama's clique.
It was the police department that sat on the video for over a year, so yes, the buck stops at the superintendent's door. Besides, there is no way he did not know or does not know about the corruption in his house! Yes, the Mayor is dirty too but the chief is the face of policing in Chicago and he should have been the one to force the DA's hand in prosecuting the murdering cop. He could have set a new standard by doing so but he folded back into the business as usual Chicago politics of the day.
1
Rahm Emanuel is the problem but his ego will prevent him from stepping down.
3
The Chicago Effect: Investigation = Cover Up
Protracted investigations signals “cover-up.” Mayor Emanuel’s two conflicting principles are justice v cover-up under the guise of “investigation.
Superintendent McCarthy cannot be the “fall guy,” the prosecutor and everyone who viewed the video must also be subject to the laws against covering-up. If Mayor Emanuel is going to take full responsibility, than he should take the full consequences and step down immediately.
Chicago closed 50, apartheid-like, racially segregated public schools, shot the teenager 16 times, and then lied about the murder for 13 months. Interestingly, the closing of the schools is where the city grapples with gang and gun violence on the West and South Sides of Chicago. Is it a coincidence that failing schools, and high unemployment is correlated with police brutality and mass incarceration? I don’t think so.
Did the City Council that approved the $5Million dollar hush money view the video? How can we expect the same police to submit the evidence that will convict them of murder? How many times did Jason Van Dyke actually fire his revolver? Was he fearful for his life during the last dozen shots?
The prosecutor Alvarez knew one thing for sure. She was not going to be able to work as a prosecutor, if she held the police accountable, and only a court order would exonerate her from inevitable police backlash. Prosecutors do what they have to do. They are under the police union’s powers - as well.
Protracted investigations signals “cover-up.” Mayor Emanuel’s two conflicting principles are justice v cover-up under the guise of “investigation.
Superintendent McCarthy cannot be the “fall guy,” the prosecutor and everyone who viewed the video must also be subject to the laws against covering-up. If Mayor Emanuel is going to take full responsibility, than he should take the full consequences and step down immediately.
Chicago closed 50, apartheid-like, racially segregated public schools, shot the teenager 16 times, and then lied about the murder for 13 months. Interestingly, the closing of the schools is where the city grapples with gang and gun violence on the West and South Sides of Chicago. Is it a coincidence that failing schools, and high unemployment is correlated with police brutality and mass incarceration? I don’t think so.
Did the City Council that approved the $5Million dollar hush money view the video? How can we expect the same police to submit the evidence that will convict them of murder? How many times did Jason Van Dyke actually fire his revolver? Was he fearful for his life during the last dozen shots?
The prosecutor Alvarez knew one thing for sure. She was not going to be able to work as a prosecutor, if she held the police accountable, and only a court order would exonerate her from inevitable police backlash. Prosecutors do what they have to do. They are under the police union’s powers - as well.
2
Again I ask, How many of these police officers who commit these shootings are returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan? Have they been properly vetted for PTDS or mental issues? We are not the enemy! We are citizens with Constitutional rights!
which republican policies are responsible for chicagos problems such as crime,huge debt, decades of political corruption?
This tragic event has brought to mind what is happening all over the country. Those in charge ignore the public. We here very little about anything unless there is a tragic event that simply cannot be covered up.
The same attitude is seen here in Chicago. Terminating the police chief was inevitable. But the very fact that this incident was hidden from the citizens indicates that the leadership in Chicago do not care and think they could get away with it. That attitude destroys cities.
There will be no further fall out. These people in power in Chicago have one goal: to stay in power. The rest of us can simply pay up and shut up until we simply give up and move out.
Don't believe it? Drive about 250 miles Northeast to Detroit.
The same attitude is seen here in Chicago. Terminating the police chief was inevitable. But the very fact that this incident was hidden from the citizens indicates that the leadership in Chicago do not care and think they could get away with it. That attitude destroys cities.
There will be no further fall out. These people in power in Chicago have one goal: to stay in power. The rest of us can simply pay up and shut up until we simply give up and move out.
Don't believe it? Drive about 250 miles Northeast to Detroit.
1
A totally independent investigation of the Chicago police and the handling of the videotape by the City of Chicago under Mr. Emanuel is needed. Anything else will not only lack credibility; it will also be wrong. Clearly, something is very rotten in America's second city. It needs to be put right, possibly under a new administration.An independent inquiry is, therefore, a "must."
2
It's hard to believe it took a year to indict the cop. If it was a civilian that did the shooting, with the same evidence, he would have been in jail the same day. If it was a cop that got shot, the other cops on the scene would have killed the shooter.
The most disturbing tangential issue in the situation is the allegation of some op-ed writers that the President and the nation's Justice Department were colluding in slowing down the investigatory process to help Rahm Emmanuel's re-election!
1
The mayor needs to fire himself since the rigged the whole timing so he won the run off for mayor. And he held all the info secret for so long. But he'll stay on. Chicago cops were known in 1968 to be brutal, Mayor Dailey the first backed them back then at the convention, but the gangs on the streets kill far more young black men and kids than do the cops. But the liberals and the black leaders do nothing for the kids and don't protest their deaths at the hands of black gang members. Intervene early in the lies of children to prevent them becoming what this 17 yr old became, a guy on crazy PCP with a knife. Cop was wrong but the black leaders of the city were just as guilty as the cop in this case.
1
The most disturbing aspect of the story are the allegations made by some Op-Ed writers that the President and his Justice Department colluded in slowing down the investigatory process so as to help Mayor Emmanuel get re-elected.
2
I have no evidence that this happened, but it should not come as a shock to anyone, as this the president who told his supporters he was going to use his power to help his friends and punish his enemies, and he has absolutely governed this way.
Chicago has the most restrictive gun laws of anywhere. There is basically no chance a black parent can legally own a firearm to protect their home.
Just for irony, remember that those black families never even consider voting for a party that might change that terrible situation. No wonder there is no hope for improvement in Chicago, which has a longer history of socialist politics than any other large city.
Just for irony, remember that those black families never even consider voting for a party that might change that terrible situation. No wonder there is no hope for improvement in Chicago, which has a longer history of socialist politics than any other large city.
The video clearly showed an execution, and the unbelievably nonchalant reaction of the officers who just watched one of their own pump 16 bullets into a helpless victim. This may have been the most disgusting display of disregard for a life being extinguished mercilessly that I have ever seen on any of the numerous police shooting videos that exist on the world wide web. The Chicago PD needs to be turned upside down, and the officers who did nothing to intervene or to assist the victim and later falsified written reports, lied in testimonies and refused to turn over evidence need to all lose their jobs and be brought to justice by a jury.
Let's face it Herr, you haven't seen anything. Those streets are killing fields and it's not the police doing the killing.
1
Val in Brooklyn, NY
Is there no end in sight to this madness? The very least I can say is "some heads need to roll." The mayor, the AG, however far up it goes. Firings (with no pensions), charges to the federal level. But will there be consequences? Real, hard time consequences. I am absolutely not counting on it.
Submitted 12/2/15@3:33 a.m. e.s.t.
Is there no end in sight to this madness? The very least I can say is "some heads need to roll." The mayor, the AG, however far up it goes. Firings (with no pensions), charges to the federal level. But will there be consequences? Real, hard time consequences. I am absolutely not counting on it.
Submitted 12/2/15@3:33 a.m. e.s.t.
This is pretty much standard operating procedure, and is on page 1 of the Political Disaster Recovery Handbook: Find a fall guy and fire somebody.
Rahm Emanuel is not going anywhere unless a few damning emails, or voice mails appear, written in his hand, or spoken with his voice, that show unequivocally he knew about the contents of the video and wanted it covered up. I'm guessing he is smarter than that, but you never know. Sometimes, a few drinks, and being overworked can cloud even a smart person's judgment. And Twitter? Be very, very, very careful of it, all you bigwigs out there in scandal land.
2
Black Lives Matter only when a black person has been killed by a white policeman.
What about the Black Lives Matter when innocent black children are killed by a black man?
Would sure love to see the video (which doesn't exist of the assignation of The nine year old who was gunned down by 3 rival gang members in retaliation against the father of the nine year old. And all the other killings in Chicago. You can pick any week.
What about the Black Lives Matter when innocent black children are killed by a black man?
Would sure love to see the video (which doesn't exist of the assignation of The nine year old who was gunned down by 3 rival gang members in retaliation against the father of the nine year old. And all the other killings in Chicago. You can pick any week.
1
You can pick any day.
2
Rahm not a progressive not a Democrat, he's .a corporatist. He destroys cities and wonders why people are angry. Don't let one right decision fool you!
6
he claims to be a democrat. i think that is relevant
This is such a tragically sad and disgusting story on all levels. Especially how quickly the police and city officials worked to contain the mess they made tells me this wasn't their first rodeo. It frightens me to think how many more of these "quid pro quo" conspiracies are lingering out there- yet to be uncovered.
3
Why did it take a lawsuit from a solo, independent journalist to get the tape released? Where was the large, organized, established media? They were too busy playing footsie with government officials, too reliant on the government as a primary news source, too worried about offending their police sources and too concerned about being responsible journalists to file suit. Congrats to the solo journalist and thank you.
8
Best comment.
The public has no idea what it has lost in terms of watchdog media over the past 15 years. And our society is suffering for it.
The public has no idea what it has lost in terms of watchdog media over the past 15 years. And our society is suffering for it.
2
Why did so many influential African American leaders, including the President, endorse the Mayor in this year's election? When will more people rise up against this type of politics which refuses to stand up to entrenched and corrupt power?
7
So shows like Chicago PD are not fiction. that..... that shouldn't be. Chicago has a lot of problems, and the police should not be, but are, a big part of it. I understand they are dealing with high crime rates, murders, and such. but ultimately, this should not be an excuse. You want to let gangs kill each other? ok. but when you get into the same types of killing, you become as bad as a south side gang.
1
Run by Democrats for the benefit of the unions. But for some reason African Americans keep voting them back into power.
3
All the armchair quarterbacks of the world should try to negotiate with someone high on PCP with a knife. Have fun!
3
The young man was not approaching the officers whatsoever, AND the blade of the knife was folded into the handle. He posed no direct danger to the many officers, weapons drawn, who were there. Had he been charging or threatening or challenging the officers, completely different story: they might have had some reason to fire.
But he wasn't and they did, and he's dead.
I saw no one "try to negotiate" with him; they just killed him.
This reminds me of my younger days in Chicago when Richard J. was mayor and no one did, said or saw anything; at least we now have dashcams.
But he wasn't and they did, and he's dead.
I saw no one "try to negotiate" with him; they just killed him.
This reminds me of my younger days in Chicago when Richard J. was mayor and no one did, said or saw anything; at least we now have dashcams.
1
jm so your idea is to turn this country into a banana republic where the police can just gun down anyone with a small knife? Next we will become like Argentina was under the junta where people disappeared in the middle of the night.
1
@jm
crazy guy with a knife doesn't respond to commands. it's a tough job--so execute the dude and call it a night.
crazy guy with a knife doesn't respond to commands. it's a tough job--so execute the dude and call it a night.
When a police officer did nothing but his duty in Ferguson Obama launched a Justice Department investigation which sent 42 FBI agents almost immediately to Ferguson to try and find anything they could to support charges, State or Federal, against a innocent officer. Despite all of that they could find nothing and had to completely exonerate the office. That didn't stop them from investigating the city and the police department from top to bottom and driving the resignations of the mayor.
Yet in Chicago with a video tape that appears to show an officer murdering a criminal with shot after shot after shot, even though Federal investigators where told, nothing was done. Well not exactly nothing. Apparently Mayor Emanuel, city officials reporting to him, the prosecutor, and the police department engaged in a massive conspiracy to bury the tape, and hide the tape and the murder. Its pretty clear that this cover up included a conspiracy at the highest political levels of the City administration, the police, and the prosecutors office. Its also apparent that unlike in Ferguson with 42 FBI agents, that the Federal Investigators/Government, and Obama and his Justice Dept ignored everything. What is the difference between Ferguson and Chicago? Well there wasn't even enough evidence to indict the officer in Ferguson and he was cleared. In Chicago Mayor Emanuel was up for reelection, and he's a friend and ally of Obama's so the corrupt conspiracy & cover up was at every level.
Yet in Chicago with a video tape that appears to show an officer murdering a criminal with shot after shot after shot, even though Federal investigators where told, nothing was done. Well not exactly nothing. Apparently Mayor Emanuel, city officials reporting to him, the prosecutor, and the police department engaged in a massive conspiracy to bury the tape, and hide the tape and the murder. Its pretty clear that this cover up included a conspiracy at the highest political levels of the City administration, the police, and the prosecutors office. Its also apparent that unlike in Ferguson with 42 FBI agents, that the Federal Investigators/Government, and Obama and his Justice Dept ignored everything. What is the difference between Ferguson and Chicago? Well there wasn't even enough evidence to indict the officer in Ferguson and he was cleared. In Chicago Mayor Emanuel was up for reelection, and he's a friend and ally of Obama's so the corrupt conspiracy & cover up was at every level.
8
Powerful stuff and it makes sense to me. I nominate John Brown's comment for NYT pick--in fact, maybe he could write us an op-ed too.
Standing by for massive response to this kiling from US DOJ.
Standing by for massive response to this kiling from US DOJ.
I don't really get your point on Ferguson. You seem aggrieved that a thorough investigation was launched, and yet acknowledge that, at the end of the day, it acquitted the officer of wrong-doing. So what are you saying? There should not have been an investigation, or it should have been done with fewer resources?
1
What Chicago needs is a good community organizer to pull the city together.
3
The Mayor has got to resign, no way around it, if he had anything to do with trying to prevent this video from being released. And let's face it, knowing what a politically active and astute fellow Rahm is...he did.
4
I am not sure what the answers are in this situation. The prosecutor's choice of 1st degree murder and only 1st degree murder is suspect. How could it be pre-meditated? The officer didn't even know the kid. It certainly appeared to be an execution without justification which would suggest some felony charge short of 1st degree murder. This video was explosive and the police, the prosecutors, the mayor all knew it. The judge knew it and ordered it released.
American police are operating under rules which justify almost all shootings by police. American police kill a thousand people in a year while European police kill far fewer than a hundred. European police face far fewer guns, but American police are killing people armed with pocket knives. Killing 12 year olds is not ok. This 17 year old needed help, not sixteen bullets. Other officers were calling for a Taser. The officer who shot didn't want to wait. Everyone else covered up for him for a year.
American police are operating under rules which justify almost all shootings by police. American police kill a thousand people in a year while European police kill far fewer than a hundred. European police face far fewer guns, but American police are killing people armed with pocket knives. Killing 12 year olds is not ok. This 17 year old needed help, not sixteen bullets. Other officers were calling for a Taser. The officer who shot didn't want to wait. Everyone else covered up for him for a year.
2
The Problems Are:
#1. Chicago has such an entrenched history of rogues inside and outside the law enforcement community. This is the home of Al C and Richard D.
#2. Disparity as it was a "run to" escape place for many of the totally underprepared migrants from slavery, and after, in the South.
#3. There is now quite a war going on between racial gangs and within the race groups for control of the head of the drug smuggling route. Bad cops have taken their cut of this action and it is so lucrative that all too many good cops are swayed into it by the big money and the resentment of the public.
Mr. Mayor Emanuel and Ms Alvarez, Supt. McCarthy was thrown to the wolves but that is not enough! You collaborated to defraud the public with him so his fate should be shared. Supt. McCarthy made some major sacrifices to relocate to Chicago from NY at the behest, I feel sure, of the Mayor so it is only just that the people of Chicago get a clean sweep starting with an outside independent committee with full oversight and command over the PD and Prosecutor office while Mr. Emanuel is relieved of all PD authority.
Should the people of Chicago recall the mayor? He is THEIR elected official and they are the ones WHO SHOULD DECIDE that. He has shown a clear dereliction of duty to save his job but only the people/special prosecutor should decide the immediate fate.
The great city of Chicago needs a housecleaning, starting at the top seems appropriate. Bring in NEW total leadership faith!
#1. Chicago has such an entrenched history of rogues inside and outside the law enforcement community. This is the home of Al C and Richard D.
#2. Disparity as it was a "run to" escape place for many of the totally underprepared migrants from slavery, and after, in the South.
#3. There is now quite a war going on between racial gangs and within the race groups for control of the head of the drug smuggling route. Bad cops have taken their cut of this action and it is so lucrative that all too many good cops are swayed into it by the big money and the resentment of the public.
Mr. Mayor Emanuel and Ms Alvarez, Supt. McCarthy was thrown to the wolves but that is not enough! You collaborated to defraud the public with him so his fate should be shared. Supt. McCarthy made some major sacrifices to relocate to Chicago from NY at the behest, I feel sure, of the Mayor so it is only just that the people of Chicago get a clean sweep starting with an outside independent committee with full oversight and command over the PD and Prosecutor office while Mr. Emanuel is relieved of all PD authority.
Should the people of Chicago recall the mayor? He is THEIR elected official and they are the ones WHO SHOULD DECIDE that. He has shown a clear dereliction of duty to save his job but only the people/special prosecutor should decide the immediate fate.
The great city of Chicago needs a housecleaning, starting at the top seems appropriate. Bring in NEW total leadership faith!
2
Fired the wrong guy. Mayor Rham is ultimately responsible but needed a fall guy. The Chicago way.
On the bright side maybe the new chief will make inroads in the gang warfare where hundreds more African Americans are being killed by other blacks than are being killed by police. If black lives truely matter progress needs to be made here.
On the bright side maybe the new chief will make inroads in the gang warfare where hundreds more African Americans are being killed by other blacks than are being killed by police. If black lives truely matter progress needs to be made here.
6
So we now have a scapegoat. But is that really as high as the cover-up went? What's needed is an independent investigation that's entirely free from the marionette strings of the Mayor's Office. It's awfully hard to believe that there hasn't been an obstruction of justice.
5
Impeach Rahm.
Change Starts Now.
Change Starts Now.
4
Reality check people tend to say or have all right answers when bad things happen . Truth is we all share in the problems when good people stand idle an allow evil to flourish in world .Just no incentive for kids to do better
1
The shooting of the McDonald lad was an obvious cold-blooded murder. The failure of States Attorney Alvarez to insist to the Chief of the Chicago Police Department and Mayor Emanuel that it was mandatory that she promptly announce that the officer that shot the youth 16 times, within seconds after he stepped out of his car as he was walking away from the officer, demonstrates a planned cover-up. No doubt the mayor, the attorney, and the Chief of Police worked to closely agree that a quick settlement with the parents was an obvious need and would help keep the story of the cold-blooded murder out of the news. The States Attorney, the Mayor, and the Chief of Police conspired to cover-up the murder and at the same time kept the police officer on the pay-roll as if he had not committed murder.
In Chicago, as in other cities with high instances of crime, elected and appointed leaders routinely go through the steps that Ms. Alvarez, Mayor Emmanuel, and Chief McCarthy went through in the days following the murderous shooting of Mr. McDonald. Yet the news media will often turn a blind eye to such behavior, here and in 3rd world countries and in some that are more advanced. Such behavior reeks in all of them that perform as the City of Chicago has done over a 13 month period. Yet, the mayor and the prosecutor will hold on tight, hoping and praying that Chief McCarthy will move quietly on to another police position in another city.
In Chicago, as in other cities with high instances of crime, elected and appointed leaders routinely go through the steps that Ms. Alvarez, Mayor Emmanuel, and Chief McCarthy went through in the days following the murderous shooting of Mr. McDonald. Yet the news media will often turn a blind eye to such behavior, here and in 3rd world countries and in some that are more advanced. Such behavior reeks in all of them that perform as the City of Chicago has done over a 13 month period. Yet, the mayor and the prosecutor will hold on tight, hoping and praying that Chief McCarthy will move quietly on to another police position in another city.
1
Is anyone else concerned that when forced to bring charges against the officer, the attorney general chose to charge him with first degree murder was so that he can be found innocent? Why not charge him with second degree murder or manslaughter? I think a jury may be forced to find him not guilty of first degree murder. But then again, I'm no attorney.
4
Anita Alvarez was recently chastised and had a case thrown out because she brought a manslaughter charge against someone (who should have been found guilty of something) and the judge thought it should have been a murder charge so he threw it out on a technicality. Apparently she learned from that lesson and is now upping the charge. You cannot raise a charge from manslaughter to murder, but you can always lower a murder charge to manslaughter.
1
So the mayor finds a head to roll to save his own. This year of sleepwalking in the face of atrocity goes straight to the top, and he is only proving by this move his own inability to take responsibility.
No surprise there. He never was a leader, and he has shown now that he never will be. It's only about political survival for him. If Emanuel gets away with this fig leaf action, we have affirmative proof of the terrible destiny of Chicago, at least as long as he is in office.
No surprise there. He never was a leader, and he has shown now that he never will be. It's only about political survival for him. If Emanuel gets away with this fig leaf action, we have affirmative proof of the terrible destiny of Chicago, at least as long as he is in office.
3
Not another person, arriving police included, showed any effort to examine the victim, perhaps even rendering aid.
They should all be indicted as accessories to murder.
They should all be indicted as accessories to murder.
3
If you look closely at the video, you can see an ambulance in the background. Isn't that help?
The DOJ should be investigating Chicago's destruction of evidence. The DOJ has a primary responsibility to investigate corrupt cities, states, and townships. The DOJ has been investigating Southern cities, and rightly so, since the civil war.
Chicago shouldn't get a pass for any reason.
Chicago, and Illinois too, might be too corrupt to investigate the Chicago police and Emmanuel. The citizen of Chicago are entitled to know the Mayor's office involvement in the destruction of evidence and/or the cover-up. It's hard to believe they didn't know.
Chicago shouldn't get a pass for any reason.
Chicago, and Illinois too, might be too corrupt to investigate the Chicago police and Emmanuel. The citizen of Chicago are entitled to know the Mayor's office involvement in the destruction of evidence and/or the cover-up. It's hard to believe they didn't know.
4
And what about the photos of the cops erasing the Burger King footage?
5
Did the mayor see the video? If so, when? If not, why?
4
The involved officer made a bad decision in a split second. A tragedy brought about by poor training and absent equipment. The Mayor and his State's Attorney have made bad decisions, for purely political reasons, for 14 MONTHS! The Chicago Way. Moral bankruptcy.
3
I think the guy with the knife Breaking into cars, slashing tires, resisting arrest etc. etc. made the worst decision of all.
A city that spends forty percent of its budget on the police force is placing more emphasis on law and order than improving overall quality of life. Why can't the Chicago police eliminate the gang activity? Who are the "good" guys versus the "bad' guys. Citizen complaints of police abuse go unheeded until (alas) someone is killed in a violent and excessive manner.
5
Chicago has many problems related to law enforcement and a very long and very biased history of policing the African American and communities of color dating back to the great migration from the South. Rahm Emanuel has taken responsibility and now he should be fired! Emanuel could have taken the stance that he was not going to allow such "murder" by the hands of the police in Chicago and demanded the prosecution of the officer involved had he viewed the video at the time of its occurrence. He was Mayor at the time. But, he knew his odds of winning the election would be impacted by this murder, as it must have appeared to be an apparent murder to other officials, 13 months ago. Now, Rahm says he didn't see it until it was released publicly last week. You can fool the public some of the time, but not all of the time. Now, instead of Rahm Emanuel not being returned to office, he will be recalled or impeached from office. His failure is that he supports this kind of brutality and he feels it does not deserve an explanation. Like the video and the intent to sweep its truth of the murder of Laquan from the public, the truth will sweep Rahm Emanuel out of office. This is one of the most egregious acts of a politician's tacit distrust of the public he is supposed to serve. Emanuel doesn't deserve another day in office after 400 days of denying justice due to this young man who was killed cold-bloodedly as if he wasn't human. A dog would not have been shot so many times.
5
Can the mayor of Chicago be recalled? Time to start working on it.
5
Chicago is as stuck with Rahm as the rest of us are with his former Boss - except Rahm at least pretends to try to perform his duties.
Chicago's political system is a symptom rather than the cause and that cause is the Chicagoans themselves. They, unlike the residents of New York City, repeatedly refuse every opportunity to evict a thoroughly corrupt party from office. When an NYC mayor badly blunders, voters replace him with a member of the opposite party. Michael Bloomberg and Rudolph Giuliani are proof of that.
But for eighty-four years, Chicagoans gave the mayor's office to members of one political party and they are now living with the consequences of the impunity that such a political monopoly generates.
But for eighty-four years, Chicagoans gave the mayor's office to members of one political party and they are now living with the consequences of the impunity that such a political monopoly generates.
4
I'm a Democrat and have never voted Republican but I think in this case there might be something in this. When Dinkens was mayor of New York City The murder rate went way over 2000. In came Rudy Giuliani who arrested everyone for any crime. Then came Bloomberg with stop and frisk and the crime rate plunged. Chicago has to get tough.
They need many, many more minorities in all big city police departments. They also need to start making a college degree mandatory. The cops must stop covering up for the bad ones. Gives them all a bad name. Whatever happened to the neighborhood cops that knew the kids and vice versa? It's not rocket science.
2
Kareena, how would more minorities' help? Do you suggest a quota system where unqualified minorities are hired? Great idea. And why would someone with a marketable skill obtained from 4 years of college ever go into policing? Too many jobs pay much better with none of the risk. As far a neighborhood cops? These same minorities you want hired destroyed the neighborhoods. You are correct, it is not rocket science it is taking a look at reality.
5
way to stereotype all minorities as destructive criminals.
The question is why has not Mayor Rahm Emanuel been asked to resign as his fingerprints are all over the hidden video.
5
They ARE calling for his resignation.
Living in a suburb of Chicago, I can honestly say the daily news is full of shootings in the city. It's like the wild West. Trying to control the violence with all the available guns on the streets is all but impossible. The filmed incident which is now under investigation, appears to involve unnecessary force, and the officer ( if found guilty ) should definitely be held accountable. There is apparently anger among many in the African-American population regarding the fact that the police officer was white skinned and the victim of the shooting was African-American, along with the probable inappropriate actions on the part of the police officer. The anger extended to the mayor and police superintendent. The outrage apparently was due to the length of time between the occurrence of the incident and the presentation of the circumstances, along with the film. The question that arises is whether it was a cover-up to protect the police department and mayor's office or whether it was held back to prevent a massive riot, such as the one that occurred in Missouri. The situation needs to be addressed, AND resolved by rational-minded people, not by a mob. There is some fear that without resolving the crime which is present in the city, the police department...even with a new superintendent, will not be able to control the chaos which has already pretty much run amok.
4
It's too bad that those who purport to fight for justice keep picking the wrong poster kids, because when a truly egregious example of police wrongdoing comes to light--finally--much energy and indignation has already been wasted.
Mr. McDonald was committing crimes while high on an illegal drug.
But there was absolutely no reason for him to have ended up dead. He didn't have a gun, or a samurai sword, or a flamethrower. He had a small knife, and any well-trained officer of the law could have subdued and arrested him without serious harm to either party.
He was, indeed, murdered.
It's true that his own lousy choices caused the encounter that culminated in his death. Doesn't change the fact that he was murdered--not killed, murdered--by a cop and that other cops all the way up the line colluded in that crime, covered it up, sought to destroy all evidence pertaining to it.
Mr. McDonald was committing crimes while high on an illegal drug.
But there was absolutely no reason for him to have ended up dead. He didn't have a gun, or a samurai sword, or a flamethrower. He had a small knife, and any well-trained officer of the law could have subdued and arrested him without serious harm to either party.
He was, indeed, murdered.
It's true that his own lousy choices caused the encounter that culminated in his death. Doesn't change the fact that he was murdered--not killed, murdered--by a cop and that other cops all the way up the line colluded in that crime, covered it up, sought to destroy all evidence pertaining to it.
7
Yes but when you act like that most people don't care. And it sounds phony when you care so much about this and ignore the hundreds of murders that go on in Chicago every year.
So Emanuel brought in an outsider as top cop, he made some improvements, but better for him to take the fall than Rahm. McCarthy had the administrative authority to discipline cops through an arduous process of employee discipline, but there are no such constraints on the States Attorney. Surely many months ago she had enough evidence to charge the perpetrator, and with knowledge of what was on the tape where was the US Attorney and/or the Illinois AG. Policing is political - the answer here involves changing the politics.
3
"The video shows that Mr. McDonald, who was walking down a street holding a small folding knife, was several feet away from the office"--really? A few feet away? Did you get that from the police report, or actually look at the video. In my life a few feet is close, but that's why the uproad. This was many more than a few feet away, making the idea that he lunged at the officer seem inane. A few feet would cerrtainly be 5 or less in my mind. Just looked again at a video still and would have never called that a "few" feet in distance.
2
Either build a wall around places like sicago or states need to build walls around themselves and admit only those that have no criminal record and a good work history.
4
That sounds bizarre
1
It is interesting that an article in today's NYT describes the recent deadly shootings by soldiers and civilians of young Palestinian women who were armed with knives. Some of the shootings were somewhat similar to the shooting of Mr. McDonald and the articles says they were denounced by some.as unnecessary.
They need to rethink rules of engagement training. Men act instinctivly on training in extreme situations. Fast drawing on targets once a month just doesn't cut it. Its an extremely dangerous job for them, but simply no excuse for murdering citizens.
1
Men? What about women? Fast draws? Instincts? Which cop murder are you referring to?
Next .... ax the person who authorized tax payer money to block release of the video
............ axe the person who determined it was not an obstruction of justice to delete video from the fast food place.
............axe the person who failed to bring charges until the jig was up: the release of the video
.......... axe the person who over charged the officer in an effort to block a conviction (did he get out of his car with the intent to kill....really?)
............ axe the person who determined it was not an obstruction of justice to delete video from the fast food place.
............axe the person who failed to bring charges until the jig was up: the release of the video
.......... axe the person who over charged the officer in an effort to block a conviction (did he get out of his car with the intent to kill....really?)
8
axe the person that approved a $5M settlement. Does Chicago not have access to an actuary? $5K would have been generous.
3
One down, two to go. Cook County prosecutor and Emmanuel himself.
9
I worked for Garry McCarthy in New York at three different NYPD commands. I found him to be a bright and fair person and a more than able police manager. They had to take a head and he was that head. Chicago makes New York look like Mayberry. They have more homicides than New York with one third the population. The problems there are bigger than any one man. I feel sorry for his replacement.
34
McCarthy covered up misinformation and has not been able to rein in his rogue officers. Yes, he needed to go!
3
Mayor Emanuel, in shining armor, rides to rescue justice from political opportunism.
It was of course only to preserve the integrity of the investigation that Mayor Emanuel allowed a policeman now indicted for murder (on the basis of the same video withheld by the mayor), to continue patrolling the streets of his city.
"Concealment of evidence" is part of the definition of accessory to a crime after the fact. How does the mayor not meet that definition?
It was of course only to preserve the integrity of the investigation that Mayor Emanuel allowed a policeman now indicted for murder (on the basis of the same video withheld by the mayor), to continue patrolling the streets of his city.
"Concealment of evidence" is part of the definition of accessory to a crime after the fact. How does the mayor not meet that definition?
8
Major Rahm Emanual is just as guilty, if not more so, then the man he just fired.
How about accountability Rahm....Be the man you say you are and do the obvious....resign for your arrogance and incompetence.
How about accountability Rahm....Be the man you say you are and do the obvious....resign for your arrogance and incompetence.
9
and it only took a year
1
Chicago’s Cook County prosecutor, Anita Alvarez must be fired along with the commissioner. Charges must be brought against Alvarez for the cover-up and tampering with evidence. No investigation should take one calendar year.
The system is not designed to work in the interest of black, brown, and poor Americans, and cannot be expected to work if we need journalist to investigate investigations. The true Ferguson affect is not keeping police inside police cars, but in motivating cover-ups. Furthermore, the injustice system cannot be merely modified, but must be completely transformed.
The police union must be completely disbanded immediately. The police should not be expected to police themselves, and we need legislators and politicians to demonstrate the leadership towards that truth for the sake of justice.
Maybe with the help of retired law enforcement we can articulate innovative and creative paradigms that might seek justice first. If police survive in the system for any amount of time, they quickly learn to protect their own. It is only human nature to do so. To expect police to ‘rat’ on their comrades, or to expect a prosecutor to hold police fully accountable like they would an ordinary citizen has proven to be unrealistic in dark. Even if they do not personally know the particular officer, the other officers will give that prosecutor serious consequences for doing his/her pledged duty.
5
There is NOTHING more damning to Justice, The Police Force and the way Chicago leadership lacks in so many aspects by the arrest on murder charges of a police officer one year AFTER the event he is accused of but because the dash-cam video of that event was finally released after being suppressed by the Chicago Police Department.
In one fell swoop this action in reaction to being forced to release the tape shows as obviously as is possible, the complicity of the Police Department and those involved to subvert justice, break the law, protect the guilty and assist in covering up a crime to name just a few obvious laws broken.
For justice to be served and the rule of law to be re-established the offending parties MUST be brought to trial and with all relevant charges laid. Not just regarding the policeman who shot the victim but ALL those complicit in protecting him and in doing, subverting justice and breaking the law.
The Chicago Police Chief should not only lose his job, but lose any benefits as well as be charged as an accessory to murder or aiding and abetting.
In one fell swoop this action in reaction to being forced to release the tape shows as obviously as is possible, the complicity of the Police Department and those involved to subvert justice, break the law, protect the guilty and assist in covering up a crime to name just a few obvious laws broken.
For justice to be served and the rule of law to be re-established the offending parties MUST be brought to trial and with all relevant charges laid. Not just regarding the policeman who shot the victim but ALL those complicit in protecting him and in doing, subverting justice and breaking the law.
The Chicago Police Chief should not only lose his job, but lose any benefits as well as be charged as an accessory to murder or aiding and abetting.
4
If Obama had any concern of "police violence" as well as gang related gun violence in his home town, he should without any hesitation have the Justice Dept step in a take over the city of Chicago and remove Rahm Emanuel a nd begin an investigation.
Emanuel has just as much responsibility if not more accountability than McCarthy and should be held for McCarthy's negligence as well as his own being the chief executive of Chicago....
Emanuel has just as much responsibility if not more accountability than McCarthy and should be held for McCarthy's negligence as well as his own being the chief executive of Chicago....
5
Of course the mayor fired the police chief!
Emanuel must appear to be a big, tough guy now that all the cameras are focused on him. But 13 months ago, when no one was looking, the mayor, as well as Anita Alvarez, Cook County States Attorney, manicured a cover-up that they hoped would last at least until the mayor's re-election. Now that the gig is up, Emanuel and Alvarez will continue to bear their nasty little fangs all over the place. They'd like to make us think they're completely innocent of what we know is a disgusting inside scandal loaded with justice obstruction.
Mayor Emanuel has dragged Chicago to its knees with his mismanagement of city concerns across the board. He should step down; we know his super-sized ego would never allow him to see clearly in the mirror.
Anita Alvarez should also feel the shame of her constituents and move over.
Meanwhile, firing the top cop will accomplish very little. The old boy's network systemically infected with an "I watch your back, while you watch mine" will have to be entirely dismantled before Chicagoans will ever look at a cop and feel no confusion about who the bad guy really is.
Emanuel must appear to be a big, tough guy now that all the cameras are focused on him. But 13 months ago, when no one was looking, the mayor, as well as Anita Alvarez, Cook County States Attorney, manicured a cover-up that they hoped would last at least until the mayor's re-election. Now that the gig is up, Emanuel and Alvarez will continue to bear their nasty little fangs all over the place. They'd like to make us think they're completely innocent of what we know is a disgusting inside scandal loaded with justice obstruction.
Mayor Emanuel has dragged Chicago to its knees with his mismanagement of city concerns across the board. He should step down; we know his super-sized ego would never allow him to see clearly in the mirror.
Anita Alvarez should also feel the shame of her constituents and move over.
Meanwhile, firing the top cop will accomplish very little. The old boy's network systemically infected with an "I watch your back, while you watch mine" will have to be entirely dismantled before Chicagoans will ever look at a cop and feel no confusion about who the bad guy really is.
2
There is clearly a reason that both the Police Department of Chicago and the Newark Police Department are under investigation for similar wrongful conduct under McCarthy's tenure. Excessive use of force, failure to discipline officers who commit infractions or criminal acts, racist search policies, etc. - either these are problems in ALL police departments, or they are problems that exist under particular leadership. Clearly, whichever is true, McCarthy was not a force for positive change - he either went along with existing bad behavior or allowed it to become part of the culture in the departments he headed up. While it is clear he was not the only "bad actor" in the Laquan McDonald saga, he certainly was aware of, and tolerated, the delay in getting this officer off the force, the "mysterious" deletion of the 86 minutes of security tape, the payoff to the family and the efforts to prevent disclosure of the dash cam video. Agreed that at the least the prosecutor should join him, but McCarthy certainly needed to go.
4
Yet another sad day for my city. Finally the pigeons are coming home to roost and the rest of the country is getting to see what those of us who have lived here for decades, especially those of us who have been employed by city agencies, have know to be true for a very long time. The city's political class operates for their own gain and by their own rules. This did not begin with Rahm Emanuel. His biggest problem is that he's an outsider and is not part of the city's ancient political dynasty. However, he did himself no favor by adopting his predecessor's method and intent of picking deputies, namely to do the dirty work so the boss stays "clean." Coming on the heels of Barbara Byrd Bennett's atrocious venal actions while heading the Chicago Public Schools, Gerry McCarthy's willingness to help cover up the video of Laquan McDaniel's murder proves that Emanuel has no leadership skill, only a finely tuned sense of political expediency. People around here joke about Chicago becoming Detroit. I'm more worried that we're turning in a third-world dictatorship.
3
In most circles, the mayor's descriptor, "Excellent", would not be a term immediately coming to mind for a police chief who covers for what we see on the McDonald shooting, which after the young man goes down, becomes for all intents and purposes, an apparent execution. Maybe it is not real?
I truly wish that the debris being rising into the air above the body of the down writhing victim was not his flesh and blood, resulting from the impact of numerous bullets being fired by a fellow human being. Not to mention a policeman sworn to serve and protect our lives. I want to believe that this officer would take back those bullets if he could.
But there is a deep visceral sick feeling suggesting that our eyes are telling us the ugly truth, but the mayor only sees "excellent".
A mayor with these instincts needs a different job.
Personally, i say lives matter far more than Mayor Emanuel can see.
I truly wish that the debris being rising into the air above the body of the down writhing victim was not his flesh and blood, resulting from the impact of numerous bullets being fired by a fellow human being. Not to mention a policeman sworn to serve and protect our lives. I want to believe that this officer would take back those bullets if he could.
But there is a deep visceral sick feeling suggesting that our eyes are telling us the ugly truth, but the mayor only sees "excellent".
A mayor with these instincts needs a different job.
Personally, i say lives matter far more than Mayor Emanuel can see.
3
It is unfortunate that the mayor is making the superintendent the focal point of this issue. The superintendent clearly had something to do with preventing the video from being released, but the mayor had a large role as well. This event occurred during his reelection campaign; so it was in his best interest to keep the video hidden as well. Perhaps the mayor should resign since at the time he was more concerned with preserving his own image than finding justice.
I might be the only person in the city who has deliberately avoided watching this video. McCarthy was a very good chief and his firing is just the classic political pandering to the braying masses. He should not have been dismissed. Firing him was wrong. As for Mr. Van Dyke, it's my understanding there has yet to be a trial and he has yet to be found guilty of murder.
2
Maybe you should watch the video! McCarthy, along with all of the others, covered up the excessive use of force by Van Dyke. Please do not be so ill-informed.
3
The real difficulty with "asking for the resignation" of those law enforcement officials working for or in charge of police departments with a decades-long history of abusing people is that they move on to other places and spread the culture of abuse. Those fired or burned out by the "big city" departments just find their way into smaller towns in better climates.
The very measurements of "effective" policing often require officers to look the other way at abuse, cover up abuse or abuse as they work their way to leadership. The "fresh eyes and new leadership" for a department the size of Chicago's aren't going to be found anywhere in the US. Ask the cities whose chiefs are young, from a minority group, female or transgender, the label doesn't mean more trust can be built. Mayor Emanuel will simply settle for a new--possibly more attractive--face and run out his term(s).
Insisting on having every fatal police shooting as well as those which cause serious injuries brought to a community board for evaluation without secret meetings, insisting on adequate funding for training and time for real supervision by qualified people and demanding
The very measurements of "effective" policing often require officers to look the other way at abuse, cover up abuse or abuse as they work their way to leadership. The "fresh eyes and new leadership" for a department the size of Chicago's aren't going to be found anywhere in the US. Ask the cities whose chiefs are young, from a minority group, female or transgender, the label doesn't mean more trust can be built. Mayor Emanuel will simply settle for a new--possibly more attractive--face and run out his term(s).
Insisting on having every fatal police shooting as well as those which cause serious injuries brought to a community board for evaluation without secret meetings, insisting on adequate funding for training and time for real supervision by qualified people and demanding
1
I don't suppose there's any reason to expect that Rahm Emanuel's next step will be to request his own resignation for precisely the same reasons he has requested the resignation of the police chief. The complicity reeks to the high heavens, or at least as high as you can stack 5,000,000 $1 bills.
4
A more operative question for all Chicago residents: Why after a year is this investigation of a Chicago police shooting yet ongoing, in a case where "16 lethal shoots were fired in a mere 6-seconds" after the officer exists his patrol car, as it appears the victim--- "17-year-old" Laquan McDonald, was himself then clearly walking away from the patrol car? There is no verbal exchange? You know what this "deliberately" undisclosed video which only surfficed after legal court challenges strike me as: Good old fashioned Mayor Daley-styled politics. Then Mayor Rahm Emanuel--- in a close election relative to his drastic cuts and closings of urban schools and districts which predominantly affected the African-American community, says he wasn't aware this video existed? However I guarantee "today's" Mayor Rahm Emanuel is well aware of the [Net Affect] it's release prior to or during his last close election would have had: "He would have lost the African-American vote by double digits easily, thus defeated handily at the polls by his opponent!" Until the investigative process is complete, there really should be an interjection not only of arbitrary Q&A public forums like those being floated, planned, and hosted by Civil Rights icons like Rev. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, but also those volunteered by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Chicago Police Commissioner, and functionaries of all Federal investigative agencies not excluding the FBI.
Rahm Emmanuel is shocked, absolutely shocked to discover that there has been a cover-up going on for a year of the criminal police slaying of a young black man. Why didn't someone tell Rahm what was happening? Didn't he have at least one friend who could warn him about the conspiracy to obstruct justice that was happening all around him? Rahm is the real victim here. Disloyal subordinates must have concealed the truth and left the poor Mayor in the dark. What other explanation can there be for his lack of action until a judge ordered that the video be made public? If only someone had told him what that video showed and that the city he is mayor of was fighting desperately to hide it from the public, he would have stepped up and released it I'm sure. People just don't know how tough it is having all that power and responsibility when everyone around you is concealing the truth. We all know what a shy and self effacing man Rahm is. That must be the explanation. He was just to passive to ask what was going on.
7
Even if Emanuel was kept in the dark, he should have questioned why the city was settling for $5 million.... and even if he was given a reasonable explanation, he is still responsible for all the city government employees below him.
Remember people went after Joe Paterno and he was fired due to Sandusky.. so why insulate Emanuel from this situation.
And it is may even be worse that Emanuel did not know, so either way he should be removed from office...
Remember people went after Joe Paterno and he was fired due to Sandusky.. so why insulate Emanuel from this situation.
And it is may even be worse that Emanuel did not know, so either way he should be removed from office...
Is he the New Rob Ford?
Tom, I fear something else is at the heart of why Rahm stands unjustly accused: it was "a vast right wing conspiracy" just like the last one.
1
And who will fire Rahm Emanuel?
7
His former boss Obama should , and have the DOJ step in and remove Rahm...
1
Who will fire Rahm Emanuel? From a safe distance Hillary will, if her support among blacks heads south as a result of his actions in Chicago. Otherwise, it's democratic politicians (Deval Patrick) or another of Obama's cronies making the calls and protecting their own. Rahm undoubtedly saw Chicago as a stepping stone to the White House, so it's not going to be easy for anyone to take him off his approach pattern.
1
This is bad, but the Guardian has been working on other -- and worse -- crimes committed by the Chicago police. Let's put these investigations together. There is a terrible, long-established, pattern of Chicago police "serving and protecting" only themselves.
2
Where is the comment from the police union? Does anyone really believe that the police union will take all this lying down? I expect the worst outbreak of Blue Flu in the history of "professional" policing.
6
Shame on them, they're the ones making their own bed. They should lie in it. RIP Eric Garner.
That task force won't change anything. It's just for show, and McCarthy's taking the fall for the Rahmfather.
6
I fear that nothing will come from a "review." First, these are cops; and second, these are Chicago cops.
5
The $5M "pre-emptive" legal settlement was an attempted cover-up of potentially several crimes, not just the shooting. The attempted cover-up was foiled only by a few intrepid individuals and the willingness to fund a freedom of information lawsuit.
The Chicago police were, no doubt, attempting to cover up the shooting video itself and their destruction of other evidence, including the other videos at retail locations that we've all read about. That secondary crime now looms large because not even the family of the deceased has standing to "settle" those crimes against the public's statutory right to know.
The destruction of evidence is a CRIME and would logically involve a conspiracy, undertaken by public officials, including possibly the Mayor, to break the law and violate the public interest.
Throwing the police superintendent into the volcano can't and must not end this inquiry. This is a serious matter that goes to the heart of how we are governed.
The Chicago police were, no doubt, attempting to cover up the shooting video itself and their destruction of other evidence, including the other videos at retail locations that we've all read about. That secondary crime now looms large because not even the family of the deceased has standing to "settle" those crimes against the public's statutory right to know.
The destruction of evidence is a CRIME and would logically involve a conspiracy, undertaken by public officials, including possibly the Mayor, to break the law and violate the public interest.
Throwing the police superintendent into the volcano can't and must not end this inquiry. This is a serious matter that goes to the heart of how we are governed.
6
Should only be the beginning...
1. When you take a job as Chief of Police, you know darn well--or certainly ought to--that part of your job is politics. Including getting thrown off the back of the sled when necessary.
2. It is astonishing to see the number of commenters trying to blame this on gangs, police unions, anybody but a bad cop who shot some fool 16 times--16 times!--when none of the pther cops on-scene even had a gun out. Equally astonishing: seeing people defend lousy policing. Skip the whys and wherefores: where on the PLANET do you see anybody teaching use-of-force protocols that justify this?
2. It is astonishing to see the number of commenters trying to blame this on gangs, police unions, anybody but a bad cop who shot some fool 16 times--16 times!--when none of the pther cops on-scene even had a gun out. Equally astonishing: seeing people defend lousy policing. Skip the whys and wherefores: where on the PLANET do you see anybody teaching use-of-force protocols that justify this?
3
Brings back memories of Serpico in NYC in the 1970's. Corruption often occurs from the top down.
3
How Rahm Emanuel, whose reputation was built on his invincibility, weathers this latest humiliation and keeps from sinking in the Chicago river with or without cement shoes is his problem. I am interested in the bigger problem.
How do we fix the grotesque undervaluing of human life that is behind the Laquan McDonald atrocity? It’s as if even the public doesn’t want to notice.
It wasn’t the 16 shots, horrible as that was, that was the most horrible part of the video. It was the cops letting the teenager lie dying in the street, unaided,
uncomforted, almost unnoticed. As if he were a dog. How do we fix that?
How do we fix the grotesque undervaluing of human life that is behind the Laquan McDonald atrocity? It’s as if even the public doesn’t want to notice.
It wasn’t the 16 shots, horrible as that was, that was the most horrible part of the video. It was the cops letting the teenager lie dying in the street, unaided,
uncomforted, almost unnoticed. As if he were a dog. How do we fix that?
8
A dog would have been treated better. Sad, but true.
I agree BMEL47. And we keep seeing it over and over. But as a black man, I also have to ask: What is the black community doing to support law enforcement by good cops fighting crime in Chicago? The criticism regarding bad cops is completely justified, but if the black community turns a blind eye to the ones in their neighborhoods who prey on the weak, the elderly, and the young, how CAN it get any better? "No Snitchin'" is just another way of saying that you're too scared to stand up. If someone robs your sister, or beats your grandmother, or your friend, wouldn't want that person out of your neighborhood? I'm not making no judgements, I'm just saying that the effort has to work both outside and inside the communities.
1
I think when you find a young Black youth shot many times by a police officer you are seeing an execution of a drug runner who is threatening to inform on the cop. There are many crooked cops who depend on street people for their extra livelihood. When it comes down to it most bad cops will do what they have to do to erase the connection.
There was a case in the 1990s involving an attempted rub out of a drug runner, Larry Davis. When he shot the cops who were coming to get him and escaped out the window he lived to tell his story to the jury who acquitted him. Except for a weapons charge which put him behind bars. A few years ago he was killed by another prisoner.
There was a case in the 1990s involving an attempted rub out of a drug runner, Larry Davis. When he shot the cops who were coming to get him and escaped out the window he lived to tell his story to the jury who acquitted him. Except for a weapons charge which put him behind bars. A few years ago he was killed by another prisoner.
4
If a year went by and no officer was prosecuted, the Mayor should be firing some at the DA's office as well.
There is also the issue of video showing Officers erasing security camera video a nearby Burger King had of the incident. That, by it's existence, indicates a conspiracy to cover up what happened.
Any officer who knew of the crime and failed to report it should be fired, stripped of all pension entitlement and charged with a number of crimes. Any officer who knew of the goings on and ignored or covered it up should be treated in a similar manner. Any member of the DAs office that knew of this and chose to look the other way should be fired, disbarred, stripped of all benefits and charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy.
Fish rot from the head and the Mayor had full control of those who did these things. Were I a citizen of Chicago I would not have any confidence in him. He should resign for the good of the city.
There is also the issue of video showing Officers erasing security camera video a nearby Burger King had of the incident. That, by it's existence, indicates a conspiracy to cover up what happened.
Any officer who knew of the crime and failed to report it should be fired, stripped of all pension entitlement and charged with a number of crimes. Any officer who knew of the goings on and ignored or covered it up should be treated in a similar manner. Any member of the DAs office that knew of this and chose to look the other way should be fired, disbarred, stripped of all benefits and charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy.
Fish rot from the head and the Mayor had full control of those who did these things. Were I a citizen of Chicago I would not have any confidence in him. He should resign for the good of the city.
9
A number of comments here suggest that the mayor and police chief were engaged in a coverup, and both should have been fired. That may very well be true. But the more immediate and urgent problem is shocking police violence and apparent attempts at coverup and altering evidence by the police and the state attorney's office. The police chief has already paid a price for his actions. The mayor will feel pressure to resign. But let us make sure that the root problem - unconscionable actions by the police and the attorney's office - is vigorously pursued.
6
How brave of the mayor!
9
The real question is why did this take so long to come out? A person who knows Chicago quickly jumps to the conclusion that Rahm kept it quiet till after the election so he wouldn't lose the African American vote. The excuse that they couldn't act because of the Feds rings hollow - Rahm was probably being protected by the President's team. The DA in Chicago played along. Unfortunately there is no way too get rid of wrong and the usual suspects.
5
Chicago is a perfect demonstration of a dystopian place which resulted from the 60 years of a Great Society policies which through misguided liberalism have destroyed communities and gave rise to a permanent. violent underclass. Mr. Emanuel is a pretty good proxy for the belief system which has lead to this (as is Mr. Obama). there is a certain irony that he know has to oversee this mess. A Mad Max scene of gangs on drugs settling scores, cops hardened by dealing with savages and innocent citizens caught on the middle.
8
Liberalism has nothing to do with it. Cronyism and a hunger for power are the main reasons why things are the way they are here, and those traits can be found in politicians across the political spectrum.
Wow, where are you from. Sounds tough.
1
Mr. Jay - I fear you are mixing up symptoms with causes. I would urge you to evaluate the city governments and their policies of the most dysfunctional cities in this country. I think you would have to conclude that my observation stands.
1
To really clean the corruption over this matter, get rid of the Mayor. Top man who stopped the inquiry and held back the film before his re-election. Just as corrupt as anyone else or worse. He's the person elected by the city.
12
This is why Obama got rid of him.
And Chicago should.
And Chicago should.
13
The President is a gentleman; he did not need a foul mouthed "in your face" Chief of Staff berating critics. Perhaps the Chicago voters thought they did need a foul mouthed "in your face" mayor. Chicago is a tough city; however, it is also the city with the Chicago Art Museum and some incredibly beautiful neighborhoods. There is a history of great architecture and art in Chicago. I visited there; it is a great city. Rahm Emmanuel was a terrible choice.
2
The two things I do not understand about the conversation about this event are:
1. Linking the shooting of a 9 year old child by criminals to the shooting of a 17 year old child by a uniformed, sworn officer paid to protect the citizenry and witnessed by many others so uniformed and sworn. What does one have to do with the other?
2. Asking, "Would you like to be a police officer in Chicago?" Actually, no, I wouldn't. But what does that have to do with setting and enforcing standards under which an officer does not shoot a young man one time let alone emptying a sixteen shot magazine into a citizen who was not endangering the life of anyone?
1. Linking the shooting of a 9 year old child by criminals to the shooting of a 17 year old child by a uniformed, sworn officer paid to protect the citizenry and witnessed by many others so uniformed and sworn. What does one have to do with the other?
2. Asking, "Would you like to be a police officer in Chicago?" Actually, no, I wouldn't. But what does that have to do with setting and enforcing standards under which an officer does not shoot a young man one time let alone emptying a sixteen shot magazine into a citizen who was not endangering the life of anyone?
15
Linking the shooting is important. If Black Lives Matter all the blacks that are murdered every weekend also matter. And yet the citizens of Chicago are closed mouth about who the gang members are and will not provide information to help catch those guys. They are too busy marching when a black teenager (who is quite different from a 9 year old boy) is killed by a white cop. However, I do agree with you that the teenager should not have been gunned down.
While we are talking about accountability and since he is speaking publicly, how about Jesse Jackson telling us what good all of those million of dollars he has taken from "The Establishment" have been used for in terms of improving racial harmony, literacy and employment for minority youth. We know the money has Pushed the Jackson family up the economic ladder. But what has it done for the rest of us?
9
All the Brass in Chicago are guilty as sin, including Rahm Emanuel. He has fired Chicago's Police Superintendent.Now who will fire him or will he do the decent thing an d resign? But then if everyone has to go, who will be in charge?
4
It's a start. I'm so horrified by Emanuel's behavior that I'm finding it difficult to find the words to express myself. He needs to go. In my dream scenario, Chicago's professional sports teams would take a cue from the Mizzou football players by taking a principled stand against Rahm and his arrogant, flip and frankly grotesque "handling" of this case. All Bulls, Bears and Blackhawks players should refuse to play their respective games until Rahm and Alvarez step down. (I know, I know. It's a *dream* scenario, remember?)
10
Some readers have pointed out that there are larger issues here, but this should not stop the public from demanding real changes in the policing culture in this country. Here are three changes that would go a long way toward reducing the kinds of abuses that we are seeing on television almost every day in this era of videocameras:
1. Excessive force by police should be severely punished rather than excused by higher-ups and peers. Subjective excuses like "I feared for my life" should not be an adequate excuse for killing someone. Claims that "he was going for my gun" should be treated with skepticism, not blind trust.
2. Coverups by fellow officers should be severely punished as a form of "obstruction of justice," which in non-police cases often carries greater penalties than the original offense. Higher officials should be held accountable if they protect officers who use excessive force or make false reports, including lengthy delays in taking appropriate action.
3. Since it is difficult to change the "culture" of an entire segment of society, and since it is impossible for an institution to avoid bias in investigating its own people, independent prosecutors should handle all cases where police kill people. Regular prosecutors depend heavily on the good will and cooperation of police, and often adopt the same mindset as the police themselves. They are not an adequate safeguard against police excesses, as evidenced most recently in Chicago.
1. Excessive force by police should be severely punished rather than excused by higher-ups and peers. Subjective excuses like "I feared for my life" should not be an adequate excuse for killing someone. Claims that "he was going for my gun" should be treated with skepticism, not blind trust.
2. Coverups by fellow officers should be severely punished as a form of "obstruction of justice," which in non-police cases often carries greater penalties than the original offense. Higher officials should be held accountable if they protect officers who use excessive force or make false reports, including lengthy delays in taking appropriate action.
3. Since it is difficult to change the "culture" of an entire segment of society, and since it is impossible for an institution to avoid bias in investigating its own people, independent prosecutors should handle all cases where police kill people. Regular prosecutors depend heavily on the good will and cooperation of police, and often adopt the same mindset as the police themselves. They are not an adequate safeguard against police excesses, as evidenced most recently in Chicago.
14
And yet Rahm keeps his job. With the blessings of the Democrats in Chicago. Again.
Last time I checked, I thought Rahm was responsible for everything done by Chicago employees. Or maybe blame only goes as high as the Deputy Mayor...
Last time I checked, I thought Rahm was responsible for everything done by Chicago employees. Or maybe blame only goes as high as the Deputy Mayor...
8
They're power-hungry and money-chasing politicians who happen to be Democrats. Their political persuasion is not the determining factor in their priorities. Our Republican governor, Bruce Rauner, is just as unethical.
The police are out of control in this country. The militarization of the police must stop. And secrecy must end. Transparency and a police force designed to protect the citizenry must be the goal. And abuse of power has to be punished. Mr. Emanuel may have started to realize his responsibility, but his actions in the near future should be carefully examined. If he fails to act, he should be urged to leave his office.
5
A superficial change at the top is not a permanent or even a temporary fix for what ails the system. What culminated in this execution was years in the making. This officer should have been seeking another career outside the police department and should have been released years ago with his record of past indiscretions. McCarthy is no more to blame than you or I. It's the code of silence that protects these psychopaths just as it protects the psychopaths in the neighborhoods thus perpetuating these vicious cycles. Break these 'codes' and watch progress begin .
3
Of course, the police will resist releasing the video that brings to light what African Americans have been screaming at White America to wake up and see. Thanks to videos (mostly, citizen videos), the public now knows about the murders our tax dollars enable on our own streets.
We, citizens, need laws protecting our rights to record the police, our court hearings, and any official communication/interaction, if we so choose.
Attorney's fees are out of the reach of many, making litigation a choice only for a few.
Therefore, the best way to ensure justice and a corruption free experience with govt. officials is the ability to record our interactions with them. Giving this powerful ability only to the police or other authority will ensure the kind of delays, foot dragging, tampering with evidence that has occurred for too long in dark history of the country.
We, citizens, need laws protecting our rights to record the police, our court hearings, and any official communication/interaction, if we so choose.
Attorney's fees are out of the reach of many, making litigation a choice only for a few.
Therefore, the best way to ensure justice and a corruption free experience with govt. officials is the ability to record our interactions with them. Giving this powerful ability only to the police or other authority will ensure the kind of delays, foot dragging, tampering with evidence that has occurred for too long in dark history of the country.
9
Honestly, Rahm represents the absolute worst in a mayor.
Police chief thrown under the bus.
Does R really think we believe he is not also culpable?
If so, his arrogance is more sickening than I thought.
Utter failure and has to go.
"Recall Rahm" movement must begin.
Police chief thrown under the bus.
Does R really think we believe he is not also culpable?
If so, his arrogance is more sickening than I thought.
Utter failure and has to go.
"Recall Rahm" movement must begin.
21
Uh...just when is Mr. Emanuel going to fire himself???
17
The Police need "A Few Good Men".
Nothing will change until police officers who turn a blind eye to their fellow officers misdeeds are also held accountable. Citizen safety must come first, second and third. The law next, police safety last.
If you can't accept those risks, try plumbing.
I find it remarkable that the Colorado Springs police force can bring a shooter armed with an AK-47, who had already killed a police officer, in alive, while the Chicago police department needs 16 rounds for a kid armed with a Swiss army knife.
Kudos to Colorado Springs.
Nothing will change until police officers who turn a blind eye to their fellow officers misdeeds are also held accountable. Citizen safety must come first, second and third. The law next, police safety last.
If you can't accept those risks, try plumbing.
I find it remarkable that the Colorado Springs police force can bring a shooter armed with an AK-47, who had already killed a police officer, in alive, while the Chicago police department needs 16 rounds for a kid armed with a Swiss army knife.
Kudos to Colorado Springs.
15
"I find it remarkable that the Colorado Springs police force can bring a shooter armed with an AK-47, who had already killed a police officer, in alive, while the Chicago police department needs 16 rounds for a kid armed with a Swiss army knife."
Perhaps the Colorado Spring cop knew enough about guns to know that the shooter with the AK-47 was out of ammunition and did not have any extra magazines?
Perhaps the Colorado Spring cop knew enough about guns to know that the shooter with the AK-47 was out of ammunition and did not have any extra magazines?
3
I think you missed the point.
It seems like every one from the mayor on down were responsible for this tragedy. The mayor should resign, after calling for a special election for the next mayor. All of the police, that is all of the police in Chicago should tender their collective resignations immediately and find jobs someplace else. I'm sure the city of Chicago can "police itself" for the next six to 8 months while new, non-racist, police officers are trained in an academy. Then everything will be "perfect."
6
The political culture, not the people who maintain it, is the problem.
Blue Jay - It's the PEOPLE who make the political culture!
1
Rahm Emanuel needs to take this in as a transformative personal learning experience. He needs to use that highly capable brain of his and open it up to fresh thinking on everything he does. He needs to get radical and use this incident to move Chicago from a 19th century mindset to an urban policing leader for the 21st century. He needs that committee to develop three to six critical goals for the next police chief to attain over the next 24 months. Radical, difficult reforms that will help push the city out of the ditch it finds itself in. He also needs to apply that thinking to everything else he does as mayor from now on. It is time for Rahm Emanuel to transform his persona from cranky bureaucrat into the inspirational thought leader he is cabable of becoming. He needs to turn crisis into opportunity. It's his only path to short term survival and a lasting, positive legacy.
8
Don't hold your breath. Emanuel kowtows to donors who don't want the system to change.
1
He needs to resign. Period. Do you REALLY think he is capable of serious, long lasting reform?
1
A majority of police officers do not reside in the communities in which they are scheduled to protect and serve, akin to teachers who live in wealthier districts and supposedly" teach" children in poorer district, or business owners that profit from carry-outs that accept snap cards and only hire so-called family members who all live in well to do communities. The police, teachers, business owners and even govt. officials are entities that work together to help create or help destroy communities. Its time to rebuild and hire knowledgeable stakeholders that have a more meaningful and vested interest in our communities.
5
Why is it that the strongest unions in this country are those of the police and, at least in California, the correctional officers?
What are the positive lessons to be drawn from them for the union movement as a whole? What are the negative lessons to be drawn regarding the individual accountability of the members of these unions?
What are the positive lessons to be drawn from them for the union movement as a whole? What are the negative lessons to be drawn regarding the individual accountability of the members of these unions?
7
Simple answer: determinant sentencing, a new set of laws put in place in the 1970's required that sustained offenses result in rigidly fixed
Sentences. Prosecutors came to run the judicial process---not judges. Anxious for great conviction rates District Attorney's offices commonly overcharged in order to reach a plea bargain they wanted. Think $50,000 a year per prisoner: that's what "just say no"cost. The cost of California's prison system spiraled upward while cost for attendance to
The state's university and state college system spiraled upward in order to offset the cost of law enforcement.
Inmates in locked facilities are usually very
Troubled men. The prison guard's union is not at fault. Those professionals earn every dollar they are paid. Photographs of a guard after he has been shanked are dramatic and make it easy to talk about "the toughest best in the state." Not so dramatic are the moments in which guards have some form of human waste thrown at/on them.
Sentences. Prosecutors came to run the judicial process---not judges. Anxious for great conviction rates District Attorney's offices commonly overcharged in order to reach a plea bargain they wanted. Think $50,000 a year per prisoner: that's what "just say no"cost. The cost of California's prison system spiraled upward while cost for attendance to
The state's university and state college system spiraled upward in order to offset the cost of law enforcement.
Inmates in locked facilities are usually very
Troubled men. The prison guard's union is not at fault. Those professionals earn every dollar they are paid. Photographs of a guard after he has been shanked are dramatic and make it easy to talk about "the toughest best in the state." Not so dramatic are the moments in which guards have some form of human waste thrown at/on them.
2
So the Chicago Police Superintendent was a deputy commissioner for operations in the Rudy Giuliani administration, enough said.
8
“I’m responsible,” he said, acknowledging what he said was a history of abuse of force by the Chicago police. “I don’t shirk that responsibility. I have taken certain steps prior to this day. I’m taking steps today.”
Nice. Shall we paraphrase: "I will push as many people under the bus as necessary to create the illusion of action."
If the history of abuse by Chicago Police was know, shouldn't actions have been taken before the fact not after? Which begs the question: what substantive policies can be taken to actually address the problem? Was it a lack of ideas which caused the issue to percolate to the top with the death to Taquan McDonald?
Nice. Shall we paraphrase: "I will push as many people under the bus as necessary to create the illusion of action."
If the history of abuse by Chicago Police was know, shouldn't actions have been taken before the fact not after? Which begs the question: what substantive policies can be taken to actually address the problem? Was it a lack of ideas which caused the issue to percolate to the top with the death to Taquan McDonald?
4
I recently had an encounter with a police officer. He was rude, crude, brusque and belligerent. This seems to be the way and method of most police. They act insular only wanting to deal and converse with fellow officers and ignore citizens unless they see a crime. Read Phillip Zimbardo's book about University students becoming prison guards and their transformation from meek students to aggressive, brutal police and then you get the picture of our police today.
4
Then you're no better than the cops you accuse of profiling. You had one interaction with one cop, he was "brusque" to you, and from that you conclude this is the way of most police.
5
Give him a break, TP, he's likely in college still, and cossetted.
5
It's the same criminal justice system, i.e., policing, jails/prisons, and the prosecutors. All linked and interwined therefore, its time for prosecutor to step down. How does that work in 'Chiraq' and who makes that call.
2
Qs: How many young black men have been murdered in Chicago by other young black men this year? How many indictments has Ms. Alvarez brought in these cases? Why is there none the outrage expressed over this appalling murder rate by organizations such as the Urban League? Why are not the 'Black Lives Matter' people on the streets of the Chicago community protesting these senseless killings?
Perhaps the answer to the latter two Qs is that the self appointed leaders of the community would be forced to look into the mirror and confront the fact that they have failed this community in general and the young men in particular.
Perhaps the answer to the latter two Qs is that the self appointed leaders of the community would be forced to look into the mirror and confront the fact that they have failed this community in general and the young men in particular.
12
Len, you ask great questions that deserve real answers, but I think it is clear now that the only black lives that matter to these people are the tiny minority of them that are taken by white cops. The entire black lives matter movement exists to point fingers at everyone else instead of taking responsibility for their own behavior.
5
You nailed it. It's easier to blame someone else or an institution than yourself or your own for the problem you created and perpetuate. It's sick.
2
Of course there has been outrage and sadness over the murder rate in Chicago. Have you ever been there? It's all people talk about. It's all over the news. There have been peace marches after peace marches, to little effect. The reality is that public outrage is not enough to halt the killings in Chicago or Baltimore for that matter. There is also a sense that the vast majority of people involved in such killings are willing participants in a violent trade that brings with it the high risk of death or injury. But violent police officers only make matters worse because they dissuade law abiding people from helping them. In any event, violent criminals are not employed by the people to protect them. The police are.
2
You really blew it, Rahm. Better follow Mr. McCarthy out the door before the people of Chicago throw you out. You and your police force have done far more damage than any street gang could: you murdered hope for the future, trust in government and respect for the law.
5
It's ironic when political necessity trumps police brutality and consequent protection. The chief should have figured it would be him or the mayor. No surprise there.
3
I suspect he knew what was coming.
Rahm and the DA need to resign, asap! They sat on this video for a year for political reasons, knowing that a murder had occurred. They are a disgrace to justice and the enforcement of laws.
3
The phrase "enforcement officer" in the job title could be the reason for quick use of force by policemen.. It can suggest to him that it is his duty to use force and use lesser means such as facial expressions and words is a sign of weakness. In particular, teenager boys are apt to show much bravado to test the patience of all authority figures., including policeman, father, mother or other elders.Youngsters are apt to run away if they see merely a stern expression or a firm step forward by a policeman. Inner humility in an enforcement officer can make the outer stern appearance more effective. It will bring less violent law enforcement in the United States if the job titles don't have the words enforcement and officers in them. For example, policeman and policewoman.
2
Meanwhile, violent crime continues at excruciating high rates in Chicago.
When you're in a violent high crime environment everyone is negatively effected, violence breeds violence, in criminals and cops. Remember Serpico and the Knapp Commission in NYC? Cops then were corrupted by the criminal class Italian dominated Mafia. And in Chicago the criminal class is predominantly African American. The statistics don't lie: About 33% of Chicago's population is African American; but 70% of murder offenders were African Americans.
The city violent crime rate for Chicago in 2012 was higher than the national violent crime rate average by 150.5% and the city property crime rate in Chicago was higher than the national property crime rate average by 45.23%. Again, a disproportionate percent committed by Black Americans.
If you want to reduce police violence against African Americans, Black crime, and Black violence has to be greatly reduced; until then, those of us who once were sympathetic to their causes will continue to distance ourselves from their complaints when they themselves share responsibility in initiating them
When you're in a violent high crime environment everyone is negatively effected, violence breeds violence, in criminals and cops. Remember Serpico and the Knapp Commission in NYC? Cops then were corrupted by the criminal class Italian dominated Mafia. And in Chicago the criminal class is predominantly African American. The statistics don't lie: About 33% of Chicago's population is African American; but 70% of murder offenders were African Americans.
The city violent crime rate for Chicago in 2012 was higher than the national violent crime rate average by 150.5% and the city property crime rate in Chicago was higher than the national property crime rate average by 45.23%. Again, a disproportionate percent committed by Black Americans.
If you want to reduce police violence against African Americans, Black crime, and Black violence has to be greatly reduced; until then, those of us who once were sympathetic to their causes will continue to distance ourselves from their complaints when they themselves share responsibility in initiating them
3
A strange post. So because the crime rate is high among a segment of the black population, police officers should be free to kill them with impunity and then cover up such killings with lies and the wilful destruction of evidence? The very idea that equal protection under law should be accorded only as a function of racial sympathy is poorly thought out. The answer to criminal behavior by some is not more criminal behavior by those in authority.
4
Dear Jay Roth,
I am confused with your pathetic post. Firstly, I am sure that your empathy is not warranted or needed. Secondly, no statistics can justify the actions of officer Van Dyke against the teenager he killed. Thirdly, African Americans are a strong, resilient culture who have weathered centuries of you superior ego types. Finally, Jay, go far far away.
I am confused with your pathetic post. Firstly, I am sure that your empathy is not warranted or needed. Secondly, no statistics can justify the actions of officer Van Dyke against the teenager he killed. Thirdly, African Americans are a strong, resilient culture who have weathered centuries of you superior ego types. Finally, Jay, go far far away.
Replies to RTB and Brook:
I never mentioned the specific Chicago shooting, or say police should be free to kill with impunity: I gave you a probable explanation for police overreaction and violence against the blacks they come in contact with while on duty - an excess of crime by a class of people inevitably leads to police overreaction. The more crime, the more overreaction.
Police overreaction is a byproduct of high crime rates. You want to reduce police overreaction to blacks engaged in criminal activity, reduce black crime.
And who is a greater menace to public safety - the occasional rogue cop like Van Dyke, or the Black teen gang killers who shot to death the 9 year old kid? Why aren't 'strong, resilient' African American protestors marching against crimes like that in their own neighborhoods?
Those of us who sat in and protested at universities and corporations to break down color barriers in the 1970s didn't do that to perpetuate a black grievance culture, or glorify the gangsta mentality as an indelible black cultural marker, with thousands of Black teens armed with guns shooting themselves and us up in the inner cities.
I never mentioned the specific Chicago shooting, or say police should be free to kill with impunity: I gave you a probable explanation for police overreaction and violence against the blacks they come in contact with while on duty - an excess of crime by a class of people inevitably leads to police overreaction. The more crime, the more overreaction.
Police overreaction is a byproduct of high crime rates. You want to reduce police overreaction to blacks engaged in criminal activity, reduce black crime.
And who is a greater menace to public safety - the occasional rogue cop like Van Dyke, or the Black teen gang killers who shot to death the 9 year old kid? Why aren't 'strong, resilient' African American protestors marching against crimes like that in their own neighborhoods?
Those of us who sat in and protested at universities and corporations to break down color barriers in the 1970s didn't do that to perpetuate a black grievance culture, or glorify the gangsta mentality as an indelible black cultural marker, with thousands of Black teens armed with guns shooting themselves and us up in the inner cities.
The city of Chicago's handling of the murder of Laquan McDonald reeks of the basest political expediency, corruption, and cynicism.The stench of decay around the political future of Rahm Emanuel saturates every corner of the city. The only remedy is the removal of the Mayor. The pathetic, legalistic attempt by Emanuel to justify the 13 month delay in the release of the McDonald tape and the $5 million dollar settlement or Burger King video tape gap,for any reason other than politics is blatant fabrication, and an insult to the intelligence of the people of Chicago.If Emanuel has any sense of decency he will resign immediately.If he thinks McCarthy was a "distraction" what is he? How is it possible for any young minority person in the city of Chicago to have one scintilla of belief in the system,after the egregious performance of the mayor.
2
Rahm is only the figurehead. Replacing him won't necessarily fix the problem, since the political culture of corruption is firmly entrenched here.
But it would be a nice start!
Officer Van Dyck's fellow officers who tried to cover up for him by lying about the incident on their police reports and possibly destroying video evidence should be charged as accessories to murder.
When individual officers start facing judicial accountability for cover-ups, then perhaps the blue wall of silence will begin to crumble.
Many good candidates might be more interested in seeking a career as police officers if they knew the police force was no longer corrupt.
When individual officers start facing judicial accountability for cover-ups, then perhaps the blue wall of silence will begin to crumble.
Many good candidates might be more interested in seeking a career as police officers if they knew the police force was no longer corrupt.
8
For people asking Mayor Rahm Emanuel to resign must know that this police was in business much longer before he took the office. I am baffled of critical comments here, he is trying to send the message to his own police department that they are not above and beyond the law.
This is a very serious problem in the US since non of the other police "people" who witnessed this first hand reported to their superior but stood silent. What this means? From 12,000 miles away I can see what Americans refuse to admit, that they have very serious law enforcement problem .... much worse than here in Pakistan. Atleast we don't have organized police mafia against its own citizen.
This is a very serious problem in the US since non of the other police "people" who witnessed this first hand reported to their superior but stood silent. What this means? From 12,000 miles away I can see what Americans refuse to admit, that they have very serious law enforcement problem .... much worse than here in Pakistan. Atleast we don't have organized police mafia against its own citizen.
He thinks he's above the law, too. This is a systemic problem.
1
This full-stack act of corruption is grade-A gasoline for Republican criticism of the city, culture, and most importantly, political party that put Barack Obama in office. It so reeks of the "you cant touch this" style of politics so frequently attributed to the Democratic Party that I suspect it could become our domestic Benghazi. If Rahm Emanuel has any shred of honor for his city, party, and forever-tarnished legacy, he should be willing to fall on his sword and resign. There is no saving him now. If he tries to keep his post, he will always be remembered as the mayor who abused his power to try to get a man away with murder and himself reelected. In other words, just another (Democratic!) politician.
2
Democrats are in charge of Chicago and this is what we get. Go liberals!
4
Republicans are in charge of both the Senate and House of Representatives. What's your point?
Wouldn't that be great If Chicago's police problem and crime problem were as resolvable as firing the police superintendent.
10
Especially the crime problem...
4
All Rahm and the Superintendent was to engage in what I call "Nixon's alternative Watergate solution" Admit there were some over enthusiatic supporters; name them, give them the secret handshake, a nod and a wink before they fell on their swords. Howard Hunt was of the ilk, he would have self immolated in public.
2
Chicago is not far from Wisconsin at all. What did Chicagoland expect to get from someone named "McCarthy"? "Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it," an Attic sociologist said.
Ha!
Actually, McCarthy was doing a good job, and had begun the difficult task of reforming the police department. Firing him is politically expedient, and I'm not surprised our mayor went ahead and did it. I think the wrong man is leaving, unfortunately.
Actually, McCarthy was doing a good job, and had begun the difficult task of reforming the police department. Firing him is politically expedient, and I'm not surprised our mayor went ahead and did it. I think the wrong man is leaving, unfortunately.
2
well charles, that's just ridiculous. did you read this before you clicked 'submit'?
Chicago is a great city but has a long history of crime. Role in a marshall law with military and police working together until the city crime is driven out. I think its a better investment than sending military to other countries, at this point and time.
3
Mayor Suburb was in over his head when he was in Congress, further in over it when he worked at the White House, and now in Chicago, submerged and can count himself fortunate if he's not indicted for obstruction. But don't count this wily manipulator out just yet. He has the gift of getting people to believe nonsense and the public to take their eye off the ball. Must be his talent as the junk bond dealer he used to be and probably wishes he never left it.
5
It's another University of Missouri moment. Rahm Emanuel should be the next to go.
1
The best illustration of McCarthy's extremely poor judgment is the promotion of detective Constantine Andrews to Chief of Detectives, after Andrews was implicated by two Chicago Sun-Times reporters in fabricating a "self-defense" for Richard Vanecko, nephew of former Mayor Richard M. Daley, in the killing of David Koschman on April 25, 2004. But for the determination of the two reporters, the Koschman killing would have been either an "unsolved homicide," or swept under the rug as a case of manufactured "self-defense."
David Koschman died after he was struck by Vanecko in Chicago's Rush St. bar district. It took nearly a decade, a Special Prosecutor and two determined reporters to bring Vanecko to justice, where he pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter for a sentence of 30 months probation, 60 days incarceration and 60 days home confinement on January 31, 2014. Detective Andrews, as well as several other officers implicated in the cover-up, remains under investigation by the City's Inspector General.
Over the past decade, the City of Chicago has paid out over $500 million in wrongful death and police abuse judgments for which almost no officers have ever been disciplined. The Koschman cover-up, which is still in the process of being unraveled, with the exposure of the role of detective Andrews, is a case of nepotism gone to its farthest extremes!
David Koschman died after he was struck by Vanecko in Chicago's Rush St. bar district. It took nearly a decade, a Special Prosecutor and two determined reporters to bring Vanecko to justice, where he pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter for a sentence of 30 months probation, 60 days incarceration and 60 days home confinement on January 31, 2014. Detective Andrews, as well as several other officers implicated in the cover-up, remains under investigation by the City's Inspector General.
Over the past decade, the City of Chicago has paid out over $500 million in wrongful death and police abuse judgments for which almost no officers have ever been disciplined. The Koschman cover-up, which is still in the process of being unraveled, with the exposure of the role of detective Andrews, is a case of nepotism gone to its farthest extremes!
9
Interesting. Where'd you learn all this?
Rahm Emanuel is Chicago's very own Frank Underwood, throwing a subordinate under the bus to save his own skin.
4
Ms. Alvarez must go. She was clearly complicit in the effort to keep the video under wraps (in the hopes that this case would somehow go away?). Who knows how many other cases of police misconduct she may be suppressing at this very moment, or that she has suppressed in the course of her tenure. By whatever standards Mayor Emanuel decided that Chief McCarthy had lost effectiveness due to a loss of confidence in his integrity, nothing different appears in the case of Alvarez. If one gets fired, so must the other.
6
She's downright incompetent, and has lost the support of Chicago's political machine. She'll be voted out in the next election.
2
And who will fire Rahm?
8
Good for Rahm. I'm with him.
1
So the mayor changes the window curtains to appease a small but vocal group of black protesters who do not speak for the majority of people in the city. With the the murder of Laquan McDonald making national headlines and the protesters basking in the spotlight, the neighborhoods on the south and west side of the city are crumbling. Most of the young people in these areas remain unemployed and under educated. Yet nobody is speaking up for them and against the mayor for showing more interest in making the city more hospitable to tourists and business groups than in making it more livable for low income families. A new police superintendent will be appointed and it'll be business as usual until another black teenager is killed. In an age where we have a black president, you wonder why this keeps happening over and over again.
6
Oh. come on, this is an inside job. A more serious panel, perhaps drawn from the President's Commission on Policing, would be more independent and also provide greater legitimacy and credibility to the review.
2
Is there anything this President can get right?
3
Yes. He got rid of Rahm Emmanuel as Chief of Staff. He got that right.
After all is said and done
will young men in Chicago continue to gun each other down and
anyone who happens to "get in the way" of their bullets ?
When will we ever have a national discussion of how and why
mass murder is allowed in our inner cities on a daily basis ?
will young men in Chicago continue to gun each other down and
anyone who happens to "get in the way" of their bullets ?
When will we ever have a national discussion of how and why
mass murder is allowed in our inner cities on a daily basis ?
5
When we have a national conversation on the how and why of continued unequal treatment of US citizens by the police in cities across America.
The chief of police was a decent guy who was determined to improve things, and I'm sorry to see him go. I'm not even sure what good his firing will do, except to answer the pleas of a misinformed public. It certainly wasn't his fault that the young man was shot. I'd like to see more posters rant about gang violence and less about the police, who, while far from perfect, killed one person in this case, whereas the gangs kill hundreds.
Chicago isn't Detroit. It remains a lovely city that's quite safe except for a few bad neighborhoods (the same could be said of most cities). Even most of the South Side is pretty nice. Our President lives on the South Side, in a beautiful neighborhood. While crime remains a big problem, the number of annual murders is about half what it was when I was growing up 25 years ago, and most of the murders are domestic or gang related. Stay out of gangs and avoid certain neighborhoods and you're fine. Unfortunately, many people have no choice and are born in bad areas, and they're the main victims of the gang violence.
Chicago isn't Detroit. It remains a lovely city that's quite safe except for a few bad neighborhoods (the same could be said of most cities). Even most of the South Side is pretty nice. Our President lives on the South Side, in a beautiful neighborhood. While crime remains a big problem, the number of annual murders is about half what it was when I was growing up 25 years ago, and most of the murders are domestic or gang related. Stay out of gangs and avoid certain neighborhoods and you're fine. Unfortunately, many people have no choice and are born in bad areas, and they're the main victims of the gang violence.
55
You are right the murder rate is much lower but the number of shootings is up. There were at least six shootings in inner city areas of Chicago yesterday. Not a sound of protest was heard - as usual. There will be another 20 to 30 shootings this weekend, again in black inner city areas. No one will say a thing.
9
Well put, Sammy. The real victims are the law-abiding people who, for whatever reason, can't afford to leave the gang-infested areas. Gangs have been a problem as long as I can remember, and I'm not sure what the police can try that they haven't already to resolve the issue. Some say the violence is proof that gun laws don't work, but don't bother to note that most of the guns come in from out of the city, especially from Indiana, right across the border, where gun laws are lax.
4
Perhaps this is the danger of rule by the rabble. In Minneapolis, even after the liberal governor has seen a video and called for protestors to disband and move on, they continue to chant and demand one thing after another.
What they don't realize is that there IS a process, and the old saw that the wheels of justice grind very fine but very slowly.
Mob rule has never been known to be thorough and over the eons, many an innocent has been hung or stoned by a crowd that thinks they know the facts, but do not.
What they don't realize is that there IS a process, and the old saw that the wheels of justice grind very fine but very slowly.
Mob rule has never been known to be thorough and over the eons, many an innocent has been hung or stoned by a crowd that thinks they know the facts, but do not.
2
Rahm Emanuel should fire himself. The buck stops with him, not with the police superintendent, especially since the case is so old and every authority in Chicago knew about it and tried to avoid the truth from coming to light. Another one just as Gen. Campbell. Where is their accountability?
8
Scanning through these comments is interesting. Most call for the Mayor to resign. Very few live in Chicago or even nearby. What are they basing the demand to resign on? For myself I live in Monterey and have no way of knowing. I think we should leave this to the good people of Chicago.
3
"Most call for the Mayor to resign. Very few live in Chicago or even nearby. What are they basing the demand to resign on?"
Because the Mayor had the ultimate authority, as Truman said "the buck stops here".
Because the Mayor had the ultimate authority, as Truman said "the buck stops here".
3
I live in this city. I pay taxes here. I want him to resign. And I don't think he should have been re-elected, either. We're basing our call for his resignation on the facts, which are that he has failed at his job and is also using McCarthy as a scapegoat.
9
Good plan, except for the fact that the people of Chicago have a history of electing power-hungry mayors who don't know (or don't care to) change how the city is run.
The folks who post comments like, "He should resign" are reaching for easy answers, and many have little familiarity with the Chicago political machine.
The folks who post comments like, "He should resign" are reaching for easy answers, and many have little familiarity with the Chicago political machine.
And what of States Attorney Alvarez ? She sat on the case for 400 days, only bringing charges after the judge ordered the release of the video, then claiming she brought those charges before the video release in attempt to reduce the level of violent reaction sure to follow.
What disgusting hubris and transparent corruption! She would have never charged van Dyke but for the video, and then only if it was released. 400 days!
Shame! She needs to go!
What disgusting hubris and transparent corruption! She would have never charged van Dyke but for the video, and then only if it was released. 400 days!
Shame! She needs to go!
12
is there a law that required the release of this video?
call it a cover-up, call it whatever you want...but chicago would've been in flames and many people would've been hurt or killed in the rioting (that could still happen) that would've certainly followed the early release of this video.
is this cop a murderer? yes, he is and he's been charged as such. as is the case with many racial situations lately, there's nothing here. there really isn't (see U of Mo).
it'd be nice to have this forensic interest in every little detail when it involves innocent people hurt and murdered every single day in chicago by gang members. i know it's a cliche to say, but where are the protests and national coverage then? no one to scapegoat i guess...
call it a cover-up, call it whatever you want...but chicago would've been in flames and many people would've been hurt or killed in the rioting (that could still happen) that would've certainly followed the early release of this video.
is this cop a murderer? yes, he is and he's been charged as such. as is the case with many racial situations lately, there's nothing here. there really isn't (see U of Mo).
it'd be nice to have this forensic interest in every little detail when it involves innocent people hurt and murdered every single day in chicago by gang members. i know it's a cliche to say, but where are the protests and national coverage then? no one to scapegoat i guess...
3
The mayor is a coward. He had to have seen this video a year ago, and he, like others in Chicago, had hoped it could be covered up. Caught with his proverbial pants down, he fired the superintendent. And if the video hadn't been released, the superintendent would still be in place.
With this kind of "leadership" coming from the superintendent, you know full well that others in the Chicago PD have the same attitude, and it clearly filters down to the officers on the street.
It is equally troubling that the Chicago police union backs the murderer. That pretty much tells me all I want to know about the Chicago PD.
There was an article in the Times the other day about possible new discoveries in the Egyptian pyramids, and that Egyptian officials hope that this will generate renewed tourism in the country. Most comments observed that they will skip the trip and wait for the PBS special. The same could be said of travelling to Chicago. I'll give it a miss, thanks.
With this kind of "leadership" coming from the superintendent, you know full well that others in the Chicago PD have the same attitude, and it clearly filters down to the officers on the street.
It is equally troubling that the Chicago police union backs the murderer. That pretty much tells me all I want to know about the Chicago PD.
There was an article in the Times the other day about possible new discoveries in the Egyptian pyramids, and that Egyptian officials hope that this will generate renewed tourism in the country. Most comments observed that they will skip the trip and wait for the PBS special. The same could be said of travelling to Chicago. I'll give it a miss, thanks.
9
Why travel to crime-infested Chicago? It's amazing that anyone wants to be a police officer in this city!
2
Remember, he's a Democrat in the Clinton mold. That's how they roll.
3
Most of Chicago is safe, and we attract tourists from all over the world.
2
FYI - a lot of people's impression of the South Side of Chicago is only ghetto. While there are many poor neighborhoods and crime and gangs, there are also a lot of black, middle class neighborhoods.
And even in the bad neighborhoods, more people are responsible, go to work, etc. than not.
Just as we say not to judge all police officers by the bad ones, please do the same for these communities.
And even in the bad neighborhoods, more people are responsible, go to work, etc. than not.
Just as we say not to judge all police officers by the bad ones, please do the same for these communities.
14
Very classy of Rahm Emmanuel to throw the Police Superintendant under the bus. Chicago settles for 5 million dollars and delays releasing tape for over a year, as it looks bad for everyone during election time.
This is what happens when you have a political operative become mayor. We in New York City know all too well.
This is what happens when you have a political operative become mayor. We in New York City know all too well.
10
Maybe I'm missing something, but how would releasing the tape to the public in a timely manner prevent investigators from doing their jobs? And how can it possibly take a year to investigate an incident that took only a few minutes from start to finish?
5
I want less police. Get off the peoples backs. The police should be there for big stuff and complaints.
Decriminalize drugs, take the money away from the thugs, and the police too.
Stop playing Punch and Judy on the poor.
Stop calling every group of guys gangs. The current policy is a form of union
busting. It's political, they don't want the poor to get organized.
Decriminalize drugs, take the money away from the thugs, and the police too.
Stop playing Punch and Judy on the poor.
Stop calling every group of guys gangs. The current policy is a form of union
busting. It's political, they don't want the poor to get organized.
4
Chicago has bonafide gangs and they are killing babies with their crossfire. You live in CA and are going to have to trust those of us who live here. We want cops and we want more of them.
3
The Chief of anything who seeks to downplay the seriousness of a killing deserves to be fired. Policemen have been associated with wanton, racist killings for centuries. There is a price attached to stupidity...even for police chiefs and mayors.
2
McCarthy is falling on his sword to deflect attention away from Rahm who is the one who benefitted from this delay...until the court ordered the release of the video. Rahm would not have been re-elected if this came out before the election last spring. I guarantee you that this cover-up came down from the top, Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Both the mayor and Anita Alvarez need to go. If the cop had been shot or the white son of a prominent Chicago family, the video would have been on the news that night. Lying, evidence tampering, and suppression of evidence are crimes. This is not over...
23
"Lying, evidence tampering, and suppression of evidence are crimes. This is not over..."
I agree, do the Benghazi victims and their families get the same benefit?
Oh wait, Hillary needs to get elected first.
I agree, do the Benghazi victims and their families get the same benefit?
Oh wait, Hillary needs to get elected first.
1
Hillary Clinton asked for additional funds for consulate security in dangerous places: e.g. Kenya, Tripoli and Benghazi. Her request was refused by Paul Ryan who controlled those funds. You might also want to look at the CIA whose operation across the street from this consulate used it as a listening/spying post. They left it with two guards during an insurgency; then they walked away from any responsibility for the danger they put Ambassador Stevens in. A much loved Ambassador died from smoke inhalation; the locals got him to a hospital too late. The CIA is a bull in a china shop, unsupervised and unaccountable.
A new world record for throwing somebody under the bus.
Rahm Emanuel is rotten to the core.
Rahm Emanuel is rotten to the core.
16
For his next act, Mayor Rahm Emanuel should fire himself.
15
The firing of the Chicago Police Chief is totally warranted in this case; however, this should only be the beginning. It has been well over a year since that psycho cop murdered that kid and you can't tell me that the mayor, head city/county prosecutor and others high in city government did not see that video long ago. And it is now that they decide to act?? C'mon.... Chicago's Board of Alderman (or whatever governing body) needs to impeach that mayor and head prosecutor at least.
Anyone who whines that "there is no one better out there" should be ashamed of themselves for being defeatists and get involved themselves.
Anyone who whines that "there is no one better out there" should be ashamed of themselves for being defeatists and get involved themselves.
4
Rahm will throw anyone under a bus to save his own neck. Will McCarthy reciprocate by providing the smoking gun that connects Rahm to suppressing the video? He should. And a legion of investigative reporters should go after finding that smoking gun. There's an enormous public service to be done -- and probably a Pulitzer to be won.
11
Yes but it won't be investigated by our local papers. Maybe the British press.
1
If the Mayor was to be completely honest, he would have fired himself as well as the chief of police.
8
So blame him for your trashed city. You are the one who needs to go. It's a tough job for anyone. I hope his union and the people of Chicago votes to get rid of you. There are murders every day in Chicago.
6
The police department reports to the Mayor. It had to be the Mayor that refused to release the video not the police. The Mayor should be fired as well.
7
I believe Rahm Emanuel once stated never to let a crisis go to waste. He most certainly is using this crisis to point fingers and fire his commissioner all to cover his own backside.
9
Even though Rahm was just re-elected, given the extent of this cover-up and the imminent CTU Strike, it's hard to imagine things getting better for his administration. I wouldn't be surprised if he resigns at some point in this next 3-6 months, especially considering the inevitability of Clinton securing the Democratic nomination. When Rahm does resign, he won't be unemployed for long.
2
I was a lifelong Chicagoan until recently, and before moving out of state, i worked at a bank on the south side of Chicago, 79th and Cottage Grove. Random gunfire was a way of life down there; the bullet hole in my office window testified to that. I drove the bank president back to our offices one day, passing an African American funeral home where gunfire erupted as we drove by. Apparently one rival gang across the street was firing on the crowd on the other side as they were preparing the coffin of a gang leader for internment. This, in a city with one of the toughest gun control laws in the country. So stiffer gun control legislation is not the answer, Barack. The FBI and even the CIA needs to step up efforts with the Chicago police force to choke the flow of illegal arms coming into the city. Yes, it was reprehensible what that cop did to Laquan, but the black-on-black murders is the real story.
8
charles-
when people like you regurgitate the same argument about the strict gun laws in big cities and their respective crime rates, it makes me nuts!
obama and others that prefer logic and common sense know that the answer is strict FEDERAL gun control laws. that means ALL 50 STATES... of course the guns used in chicago crimes aren't bought by licensed gun owners. they get them across state lines- OF COURSE. so if it wasn't so easy In OTHER STATES, then the problem would mostly vanish....get it? please tell me you get it?
when people like you regurgitate the same argument about the strict gun laws in big cities and their respective crime rates, it makes me nuts!
obama and others that prefer logic and common sense know that the answer is strict FEDERAL gun control laws. that means ALL 50 STATES... of course the guns used in chicago crimes aren't bought by licensed gun owners. they get them across state lines- OF COURSE. so if it wasn't so easy In OTHER STATES, then the problem would mostly vanish....get it? please tell me you get it?
4
Rahm must have viewed the videos and signed off on the $5M payment to the family so that makes him equally if not more complicit in this scandal. Garry McCarthy has only been in Chicago for 4 years and inherited a hot mess of a police department that was decades in the making --brutal, racist and alienated from the Black community. He is not blameless but is also a convenient scapegoat to keep the spotlight away from where it should be: on the Mayor himself. Resign, Rahm.
8
Since when does any person charged with 1st degree murder get out on bail? And who paid that bail? NOW should begin the across the board firings of police officers and leaders who have tacitly supported, or committed, this kind of behavior. One way or another, the bad cops are going to be removed. You can do it the easy way, or you can do it the hard way. We are all watching.
6
Under the Eighth Amendment, "Excessive bail shall not be required" (among other things). This works with the part of the Fifth Amendment that "[n]o person shall ... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law" as well as the formal presumption of the accused's innocence unless and until a jury convicts him. The purpose of bail is to ensure that the person charged will be available for trial, not to impose punishment before conviction.
3
Probably a necessary step; however, a more important step would be to charge the co-conspirator police who deleted the Burger King tapes and corroborated the police report with tampering with evidence, falsifying records, conspiracy and general obstruction of justice.
The thin blue wall has to be taken down.
The thin blue wall has to be taken down.
12
What's the legality of deducting settlements like the one reached with the McDonald family fom the police pension fund? Would that be an effective deterrent to the actions taken by the officers at the scene and *after* the scene? Or would it have the opposite effect and encourage more cover-ups? Certainly feels like it would create an incentive for officers to monitor one another's (mis)behavior.
1
Mayor Emmanuel, the police chief, and the district attorney need to be prosecuted for obstruction. I think the US DOJ ought to investigate. If they can investigate Ferguson, they can look into this. However, one thing that particularly bothers me is that Mr. Emmanuel is a good friend of President Obama's, and Mr. Obama is from Chicago, so he presumably knows many of the players in this situation. As much as I support the president (and I voted for him twice), I don't have any confidence that he'll push for any investigation at all.
7
I am black, grew up on the south side of Chicago and was horrified at the shooting of Laquan McDonald by a uniformed Chicago police officer. However, a few points worth noting:
1. The officer involved in the shooting is a "bad apple" amongst a group of policemen and women who are honorable and brave (would any of you want to be a police officer in the most crime infested areas of Chicago?). All over this nation, we're throwing the baby out with the bathwater and it will come back to haunt us when our police forces become neutered.
2. For those of you calling for Rahm to resign, who do you want in his place? I ask you the same question I ask about wanting to be a Chicago policeman or woman? Who wants to be Mayor of a city which is broke, close to insolvency, has political gridlock at the state level and God knows how many other nightmarish problems. This is what Rahm Emanuel wakes up to every day. Would you want that? Also, in the face of all those problems (financial and crime being the worst), he has done a respectable job (i.e., we haven't declared bankruptcy like Detroit and crime will diminish only when jobs are more plentiful for those who disenfranchised).
3. I'm one of those who believes McCarthy is as good if not better than any other person you're going to get. Let's face reality. Do I really think McCarthy is racist and doesn't want to solve crime in Chicago? No and I don't think any fair-minded person would think that about either McCarthy or Emanuel.
1. The officer involved in the shooting is a "bad apple" amongst a group of policemen and women who are honorable and brave (would any of you want to be a police officer in the most crime infested areas of Chicago?). All over this nation, we're throwing the baby out with the bathwater and it will come back to haunt us when our police forces become neutered.
2. For those of you calling for Rahm to resign, who do you want in his place? I ask you the same question I ask about wanting to be a Chicago policeman or woman? Who wants to be Mayor of a city which is broke, close to insolvency, has political gridlock at the state level and God knows how many other nightmarish problems. This is what Rahm Emanuel wakes up to every day. Would you want that? Also, in the face of all those problems (financial and crime being the worst), he has done a respectable job (i.e., we haven't declared bankruptcy like Detroit and crime will diminish only when jobs are more plentiful for those who disenfranchised).
3. I'm one of those who believes McCarthy is as good if not better than any other person you're going to get. Let's face reality. Do I really think McCarthy is racist and doesn't want to solve crime in Chicago? No and I don't think any fair-minded person would think that about either McCarthy or Emanuel.
140
Progressives don't care that a municipality is broke or insolvent. Furthermore, Chicago has been the victim of one party Progressive rule for what, 50 years? How does that translate into gridlock? The real truth here is that Progressives have gotten exactly what they wanted, exactly what their policies were intended to bring about.
3
I agree with your points. The problem is that they only released the video a year later and because of a court order.
Without that, there never would have been an indictment and that bad apple would still be on the police force.
Left to themselves, they will protect the bad apples instead of getting rid of them.
I, too, grew up on the South Side of Chicago, lost 5 high school friends to gang shootings and my brother became a police officer. I asked him why they protect the bad ones. I never got an answer.
Without that, there never would have been an indictment and that bad apple would still be on the police force.
Left to themselves, they will protect the bad apples instead of getting rid of them.
I, too, grew up on the South Side of Chicago, lost 5 high school friends to gang shootings and my brother became a police officer. I asked him why they protect the bad ones. I never got an answer.
3
Holy smoke, TPierre Changstien – where did you ever get the idea that Chicago has been ruled by progressives? That actually made me LOL!
4
Ridiculous! Mob rule wins! These demonstrators have no Idea of what it takes to deal with violent individuals. This will just result in more violence against black wives, children, girl friends and anyone else that meets with these thugs.
9
I couldn't agree more, all criminals (violent or not) should be shot at least 16 times, preferably in the back. That's the only way to deescalate the situation.
8
McDonald was shot over a year ago and the existence of the video became known shortly thereafter, i.e., for months if not a year. The police chieef certainly knew about it What did the Mayor know about it and when did he know it?
6
The mayor is the boss. Does he really believe that anyone with any form of judgment takes it as credible that the mayor only looked at the shooting video a week ago when the city already paid $5.5 million to the family months ago?
No first degree murder charge was pressed against the officer until the video, which the mayor was fighting to block from public view, was ordered released.
The mere fact that the mayor tried to block the video release is enough for him to step down. How can anyone in the city believe him on any important level now?
No first degree murder charge was pressed against the officer until the video, which the mayor was fighting to block from public view, was ordered released.
The mere fact that the mayor tried to block the video release is enough for him to step down. How can anyone in the city believe him on any important level now?
8
The young man's mother did not want the video released. Furthermore, there was an ongoing investigation.
1
Anticatonis – is it possible the family didn't want the video released because they were offered $5mil to keep quiet?
4
How long does it take to investigate a cop shooting a petty criminal 16 times, 15 of which were when the man was on the ground. The video is all the investigation needs. Police brutality in Chicago is legendary.
The more I read about cities like Chicago across our land, the more I am happy (though I'm cognizant of the problems we have here ourselves!) outside of the wonderful Charlotte, North Carolina area, that I live in Brooklyn! Especially southern Brooklyn!! A major case in point of this, is there must be tons of reasons why so many hundreds of thousands of Russians and Chinese, and Ukrainians, and Turks, and Pakistanis, and Orthodox Jews of various stripes, have been pouring in here, in the last twenty five years! Paradise found, anyone?! (Maybe living near the Atlantic Ocean isn't such a bad idea!)
2
Where in the past 13 months was Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel? What did the Mayor know an when did he know it? And where was our first constitutional scholar President's vaunted DOJ/FBI in all of this? Why no Ferguson, MO-like "white glove" investigation of the Chicago cops? And why did it take an AP reporters legal petition and a court order to finally release the d*mning shoot down video of Laquan McDonald?
Finally, and if anyone knows; what is the difference between an unsolicited $5 million dollar legal settlement given to the McDonald family and an ordinary Chicago tax payer supplied bribe to keep the survivors of the deceased safely quiet? Yeah folks, what is the difference?
Finally, and if anyone knows; what is the difference between an unsolicited $5 million dollar legal settlement given to the McDonald family and an ordinary Chicago tax payer supplied bribe to keep the survivors of the deceased safely quiet? Yeah folks, what is the difference?
11
You pose an intriguing questing in the second paragraph of your post. Intriguing particularly if, as reported, the young man had lived in foster homes for most of his life, having allegedly been removed from his mother's "care" at age five.
4
A lof of smug people posting here. The family of the shooting victim got $5 million from the City of Chicago. The video was not released until that piece of business was resolved. We know there are psycho cops out there who have no business being cops. I'll tell you what though, without the cops we would be a nation run by home grown terrorists, gangsters and vigilantes.
11
Add to that list, "internet posters" -- myself included -- who know little or nothing if the real facts...
2
The choice is not between no cops and cops who are out of control. That's too simplistic to discuss. What needs to happen is firm civilian and police leadership tighten up the process of selection, training, reviewing and disciplining the police we have until they reflect the standards we expect and PAY FOR.
4
I still work in the city of Chicago although I live in the suburbs. I say that if the people of Chicago genuinely want a change, concerned citizens should, without delay, begin the necessary preparations for a recall election of Mayor Rahm Emmanuel. The obvious police strong-arm of the Burger Tape video and its erasure or deletion was known to the now-departed Superintendent Garry McCarthy. Mayor Emmanuel knew of it too, as did Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez. If people want their government to work for them--and not against them--they have the power to take this abominable affair into their hands and force a change. If they don't, they, too, are complicit in the execution of Laquan McDonald. This transcends any black and white issue. Chicagoans must take back their city from the corrupt officials and cops who run it for their own profit. This affair is a watershed in the city's history. If the people demand a change and are told "no, you'll have to wait until the next election cycle," they'll forfeit forever any credibility as a major city ruled by its citizens instead of the hirelings of the 1%. Other Laquan McDonalds are waiting for lockers at the Cook County Morgue. Recall Mayor Emmanuel now before you get a call to "come downtown and identify what we think is your son."
13
Oh please. Man up Rahm, He was doing YOUR bidding. An honest judge ruined your plot.
17
Transparency gets t the underbelly of us all and it is good....transparency reveals the truth of things. Can democracy exist without it....I don't think so. Can we live with transparency?.... that's the question.
Members of the City Council are also pretending to know nothing about the shooting after having voted, almost a year ago to approve the 5 mil payout to the MacDonald's family. There are too many layers to this debacle to cover in one comment.
13
Maybe the Mayor should fire HIMSELF too? Dysfunction starts from the top.
6
My city is bleeding corruption and back door deals. I know, what's new Chicago? Emanuel knew about the killing of young Laquan McDonald but his administration fought against the release of the dash cam that showed this killing. There is a petition to impeach Mayor Emanuel that I have signed.
https://www.change.org/p/chicago-city-council-impeach-mayor-emanuel-for-...
https://www.change.org/p/chicago-city-council-impeach-mayor-emanuel-for-...
11
Has an online petition like this ever worked? I doubt it. They can sometimes work with companies, but said companies don't want bad publicity. Chicago pols don't care much about what gets written about them in the press, as long as their donors keep lining their pockets.
Homicides are on the rise in many big cities. Police face getting killed in the line of duty and if they make a poor choice, or snap under pressure while using a fire arm they face a murder charge. I don't think you could pay me enough to be a policeman today!
8
Sorry Rahm, throwing your police chief under the bus is not good enough. You need to go, too.
13
Mayor Emanuel says he fired the police superintendent because public trust in him had been shaken. True, but public trust in Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been equally shaken. It looks to me as if the police superintendent is merely the sacrificial lamb. Mayor Emanuel should resign.
12
The police in our country at out of control as evidenced by the numerous shootings / killings of citizens who are posing no threat to the police officers or others. IMO, this is a direct result of the militarization of our police forces, having left the "protect and serve" motto behind. Have to wonder if this is due to so many police officers having served time in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the SOP was to kick down doors and shoot first.
2
The Superintendent of Police was the mayors sacrificial lamb to satisfy the media and pacify the mob. This more than a murder by police, its a cover up. The dash cam video, investigation and indictment were sat on until the mayor was reelected. Who gave that order? McCarthy's departure will not stop the killings or fix the problems in Southside Chicago. The Southside is overwhelmed by hopelessness, poverty, crime, lack of jobs and poor schools, this is not the fault of the police. Where is the Emanuel administration and why have they not addressed these intercity problems and the failures in the police department? Finally, it looks like only two in the police department will pay for this death!
8
Emanuel lead the cover up and now he is throwing the top cop under the bus to distract people of his own failure.
9
A fish starts to rot at the head so why isn't Rahm Emanuel resigning?
20
A.: Because he still has to deliver the vote for Hillary. As you see, winning elections based on fraud and suppression is Rahm's métier.
11
There was an interview with Chief McCarthy in which he described some of the institutional problems with fighting crime, especially gang crime, in Chicago. For example, he stated that the gun laws had so little teeth that gang members were routinely caught with guns because they had more to fear from the gang for ditching a gun than from the courts for being arrested with it. He said quite the opposite happens in New York City.
Mayor Emanuel can throw Chief McCarthy under the bus due to this terrible incident, but the lion's share of the problems that led to it will remain. Who will be the next scapegoat?
Mayor Emanuel can throw Chief McCarthy under the bus due to this terrible incident, but the lion's share of the problems that led to it will remain. Who will be the next scapegoat?
11
A few bad apples does spoil the whole bunch.
At the time of Mr. McDonald's execution by officier Van Dyke there were several other police officiers on the scene. What did they write in their reports? Did they describe the events as they actually happened? If not, and if what they wrote was objectively false, shouldn't they be held accountable as well? Police officiers who watched a crime being committed by their fellow officier and then cover it up are complicit in the crime. I find it ironic that police say the father of the murder victim, 9-year old Tyshawn Lee, is not being cooperative in the murder of his son, which they say was gang related. Lee's father did not witness the crime being committed. The several police officiers on scene when Van Dyke executed McDonald where first hand witnesses to a crime, and they and thier superiors attempted covered up.
I find the Tyshawn Lee narative an effort by the police to distract from their own malefesiance. "Look, see how bad these people are we have to police?" Trust? I can see how many in the Black community would look at the police as simply another gang. They have no integrity when it comes to their own conduct. This is clearly not case of a 'few bad apples'. Apparently the whole barrel, include the entire civilian overview apperatus is rotten to the core.
At the time of Mr. McDonald's execution by officier Van Dyke there were several other police officiers on the scene. What did they write in their reports? Did they describe the events as they actually happened? If not, and if what they wrote was objectively false, shouldn't they be held accountable as well? Police officiers who watched a crime being committed by their fellow officier and then cover it up are complicit in the crime. I find it ironic that police say the father of the murder victim, 9-year old Tyshawn Lee, is not being cooperative in the murder of his son, which they say was gang related. Lee's father did not witness the crime being committed. The several police officiers on scene when Van Dyke executed McDonald where first hand witnesses to a crime, and they and thier superiors attempted covered up.
I find the Tyshawn Lee narative an effort by the police to distract from their own malefesiance. "Look, see how bad these people are we have to police?" Trust? I can see how many in the Black community would look at the police as simply another gang. They have no integrity when it comes to their own conduct. This is clearly not case of a 'few bad apples'. Apparently the whole barrel, include the entire civilian overview apperatus is rotten to the core.
21
This is why the "#Blacklivesmatter" movement is so important. To white people that don't understand and want to say #alllivesmatter and think it makes sense and is more inclusive. It is because too often it seems like "Onlywhitelivesmatter." Terrorism in Nigeria - page 6 coverage. Terrorism in Paris worldwide non-stop coverage. Same week. High body counts. Same issues. Different coverage.
White guy shoots up Planned Parenthood and walks out alive. Full transparent of what had happen. Major media coverage.
Black youth in Chicago with a knife gets shot 16 times.
We have too many cases of this type of disparity.
As for this case ... it is clear that a competitive primary was part of the issue. Mayor Emanuel did the classic plausible deniability exercise - don't show me the video until well after the primary. And then fire McCarthy who was doing an excellent job.
And the dirty cops and those tainted who "look away" or "cover up" they know that "this too will pass." The institution knows that majors and police commissioners come and go but they are there for 25 years. And they are the "enforcers" rather than those that serve to protect the health and welfare.
Perhaps a good first step is to stop using the term law enforcement for police. Enforcement is the job of the courts.
White guy shoots up Planned Parenthood and walks out alive. Full transparent of what had happen. Major media coverage.
Black youth in Chicago with a knife gets shot 16 times.
We have too many cases of this type of disparity.
As for this case ... it is clear that a competitive primary was part of the issue. Mayor Emanuel did the classic plausible deniability exercise - don't show me the video until well after the primary. And then fire McCarthy who was doing an excellent job.
And the dirty cops and those tainted who "look away" or "cover up" they know that "this too will pass." The institution knows that majors and police commissioners come and go but they are there for 25 years. And they are the "enforcers" rather than those that serve to protect the health and welfare.
Perhaps a good first step is to stop using the term law enforcement for police. Enforcement is the job of the courts.
18
One of the biggest obstacles in removing bad police officers are the police unions that will do and say anything to protect some of these officers who frankly are just murderers, particularly against minorities. Instead of white robes, we have suits and ties and uniforms with badges...all of which is consistent with institutional racism that has permeated this country. Is it also any wonder why Republican politicians always "carve out" and protect the police unions when they go about their union busting tactics and schemes for all other working people? The police unions in this country also contribute exclusively to the GOP. This is all part of the stew...aka....institutionalized racism.
9
Labor unions’ function are to protect employees against exploitation. But police and prison guard unions enable cops to avoid accountability for their brutality and abuse of the public. Many will cover up any crime by cops. This itself increases police violence against civilians that we see regularly occurring.
The right wing weakens labor unions bus supports police unions, which are out of control. Our taxes pay for police and huge sums for the lawsuits resulting from their abuse of power.
In other civilized countries, labor unions are more accepted, while police are more controlled.
In NYC, the police union rationalizing and excusing police murders of civilians is a disgrace. And some prison guards in NYC’s Rikers Island jail are criminals themselves. They’ve used violence against inmates, and also smuggled contraband into the jail. Many inmates aren’t convicted of any crime, but lack bail money. The union head is very powerful. The state attorney is suing.
The right wing weakens labor unions bus supports police unions, which are out of control. Our taxes pay for police and huge sums for the lawsuits resulting from their abuse of power.
In other civilized countries, labor unions are more accepted, while police are more controlled.
In NYC, the police union rationalizing and excusing police murders of civilians is a disgrace. And some prison guards in NYC’s Rikers Island jail are criminals themselves. They’ve used violence against inmates, and also smuggled contraband into the jail. Many inmates aren’t convicted of any crime, but lack bail money. The union head is very powerful. The state attorney is suing.
8
I personally am ready for police to be disarmed. They obviously have lost their respect for life, and are drunk on power and control, to the ultimate degree. If you don't comply with their orders immediately, and the way they like, you are basically looking at a death sentence without benefit of trial. Let's take away their guns. That will solve at least some of the gun violence in this country. I believe the police of many countries do not carry guns, and those countries are much more peaceful than ours, I am sure.
For myself, I am glad Rahm got rid of this chief. And I look forward to many other firings and resignations and top to bottom reviews in the big and small cities of America until the police become answerable to the people and remember who their bosses are (us).
Deadly force is not something a police officer should need to use on a regular basis. It has become all too common.
For myself, I am glad Rahm got rid of this chief. And I look forward to many other firings and resignations and top to bottom reviews in the big and small cities of America until the police become answerable to the people and remember who their bosses are (us).
Deadly force is not something a police officer should need to use on a regular basis. It has become all too common.
72
Says the guy in Natick MA
If you want the police disarmed you have effectively killed the police. With what are they supposed to defend themselves when criminals carry sub machine guns? Give me a break.
1
John S. from Natick,
You are so right !
British police are "weaponless" and the "Union Jack" still waves.
Let's try it here in the U.S.
We also need to "screen" police force applicants by having them take the MMPI test an eliminate those who have had service in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan or the "correctional system".
We should be looking for the same skill set as those who are working on their M.S.W. degrees.
It worked at the psychiatric facility where I served without "injuries".
You are so right !
British police are "weaponless" and the "Union Jack" still waves.
Let's try it here in the U.S.
We also need to "screen" police force applicants by having them take the MMPI test an eliminate those who have had service in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan or the "correctional system".
We should be looking for the same skill set as those who are working on their M.S.W. degrees.
It worked at the psychiatric facility where I served without "injuries".
Rahm chose his words carefully. McCarthy was merely a "distraction." This from a mayor who knows how to use bad words.
11
How did the press allow this incident to remain hidden for so long? This cover up must have been endorsed by the Mayor in order to assist with his re-election.
The only appropriate response is for the Mayor to step down as well.
The only appropriate response is for the Mayor to step down as well.
17
The cover-up is nicely dissected in a detailed article in WaPo. The CPD chief, the CPD union, Rahm, and the feminist State's Attorney all colluded to win Rahm re-election. Rahm's about to learn what Donald Manes learned in NYC a couple decades ago.
5
Yes. It is no accident that one guy fought the FOIA denial on his own. And to make it even crazier, he was not permitted entrance to the press conference! A fellow journalist presented a question for him. I am sorry that I am blanking on the journalist's name. He needs an award. And some cash.
1
Police forces would do better to be more transparent than obstructive when their own officers are involved in a shooting.
The stonewalling here, with a belated indictment, illustrates the conflict of interest that erodes public trust.
Police have a tough and thankless job at times. But protecting criminal elements in their organizations only make the jobs of the good cops harder.
The stonewalling here, with a belated indictment, illustrates the conflict of interest that erodes public trust.
Police have a tough and thankless job at times. But protecting criminal elements in their organizations only make the jobs of the good cops harder.
6
One of the last things the superintendent of the police department spearheaded was the public showcasing of it's development in the case in the Tyshawn Lee murder from being a casualty of gang violence to specific targeting of a child by gang members without revealing any new evidence to support the latter. If they had credible evidence to show that the child was specifically targeted why did they withhold it? It is either because they don't have any new evidence, or if they do, it might interfere with an on going investigation. In either case they are responsible for disclosing the reason. Police do not own facts or evidence. Reform ought to start with taking away this privilege.
3
Accountability and transparency are important components to running any public department. Justice delayed is truly justice denied for both the victim and his family. Misjudgments in this case have been made, to ere is human.
The mayor appears to have made the right determination in this matter. Time now to move forward!
The mayor appears to have made the right determination in this matter. Time now to move forward!
2
Interesting, no mention of where McCarthy cut his teeth. How about NYC? That's where he got started, as Bernie Kerik's protege.
And McCarthy's record of reducing homicides in Chicago was disputed:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-04-10/news/ct-kass-met-0410-2014...
Before moving to Chicago, McCarthy reduced homicides in Newark too, by 28%. Those numbers got unbelievingly better in Chicago. In both cities, crime statistics made their respective (OK, respectable) mayors, Booker and Rahm, look exceedingly good and win reelections. Both mayors close pals of Chicago-native Obama, who's party, it should be mentioned, have honed data-mining to a fine art, winning elections, going after the bad guys, and then some.
Clearly they've gone too far: perhaps now the Dems big-data politics increasingly a vulnerability? We will see, they've been put on notice now.
And McCarthy's record of reducing homicides in Chicago was disputed:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-04-10/news/ct-kass-met-0410-2014...
Before moving to Chicago, McCarthy reduced homicides in Newark too, by 28%. Those numbers got unbelievingly better in Chicago. In both cities, crime statistics made their respective (OK, respectable) mayors, Booker and Rahm, look exceedingly good and win reelections. Both mayors close pals of Chicago-native Obama, who's party, it should be mentioned, have honed data-mining to a fine art, winning elections, going after the bad guys, and then some.
Clearly they've gone too far: perhaps now the Dems big-data politics increasingly a vulnerability? We will see, they've been put on notice now.
4
I heard last night on the Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, from Spike Lee, that the south Chicago has a higher rate of murder than the soldiers we lost in Iraq and Afghanistan...if that is true, which I suspect it is, Rahm needs to go and the Police Chief should have fire long time ago. I was born and raised in Chicago (the city) a city I loved but this is really bad and Rahm needs to go. I was shocked he was not recalled. I'm not a Spike Lee fan but his new movie Chi-Raq might be worth a viewing. This whole episode is way too sad
7
The film is supposed to be uneven in quality, but I'm glad Spike Lee is getting and keeping the conversation going. These are topics we need to stop sweeping under the rug.
No sympathy for the Police Superintendent -- just standard "close the ranks" behavior by police everywhere, overlaid by the ingrained racism in a white-dominated police department in a city with a large and poor black population.
But the buck stops at Rahn Emmanuel. Firing the Superintendent is just a cynical exercise in buck passing.
But the buck stops at Rahn Emmanuel. Firing the Superintendent is just a cynical exercise in buck passing.
12
I realize that many people were calling for the ouster of the Police Superintendent but firing McCarthy will not address the real problem, which is the culture of the Chicago Police Department. That culture existed long before McCarthy arrived. This is the culture that gave birth to (and sheltered) Officer John Burge and his henchmen for years. If we really want to effect change in the Police Department, we will need to start at its roots. I'm hoping for a U.S. Justice Department take over. As for Mayor Emanuel's decision today, just window dressing. Don't be fooled by it.
9
A peripheral but substantial issue and question to consider:
Why is it that the strongest unions in this country are those of the police and, at least in California, the correctional officers?
Why is it that the strongest unions in this country are those of the police and, at least in California, the correctional officers?
7
So the mayor makes a strategic move to save his skin. Too late. We will see what Chicago does (it's a town that seems to glory in its dirt). But if were my town, the guy would be facing impeachment.
9
Nothing like a hanging to focus the mind. Police brass all over the country know the mood of the public about police shootings, rules of engagement . They also know that technology has the potential to record and disseminate even the most embarrassing police secrets. Now the brass also knows exposure can be a career destroying moment - it can also be a financial disaster for the community.
Most of the horrific incidents involving police shooting unarmed black men are the result of bad policing. Hopefully now the entire chain of command will do their job and actually oversee and control their men.
Most of the horrific incidents involving police shooting unarmed black men are the result of bad policing. Hopefully now the entire chain of command will do their job and actually oversee and control their men.
4
They'll probably get better at hiding the evidence (oops, the camera wasn't rolling/the sound didn't work/the camera was pointed in the wrong direction) before they get better at doing their jobs the right way.
Hope is a low level of reality and old habits die hard. Still senior staff getting fired or going before a jury at the risk of an effective life entence must have some affect.
The Mayor should also fire himself for tolerating this inexcusable delay and manipulating it for political purposes. The Chief is just a sacrificial lamb in this case. More to come!
22
Agreed.he was in a tight race with Chuy when tape should have been released. Now they'll just appoint an AA police chief to appease the protesting public. .m even if the crime rate skyrockets. The police taking BK video was the final nail in coffin.
5
Mayor Emmanuel waited until after his re-election. But he learned from his former masters. Obama/Clinton.
One of their big campaign points in the fall of 2012 was that Al Qaeda was on the run. Then Benghazi. Which is why Susan Rice characterized it as a spontaneous uprising rather than a co-ordinated AQ attack.
One of their big campaign points in the fall of 2012 was that Al Qaeda was on the run. Then Benghazi. Which is why Susan Rice characterized it as a spontaneous uprising rather than a co-ordinated AQ attack.
5
WaPo has an article from yesterday that connects-the-dots precisely as to how Rahm & Co., LLC, engineered the cover-up. Game, set, match.
3
I am not suprised but more needs to be done besides just firing the police chief.Mayor Emanuel also needs to be held accountable for his actions,lack of good judgement and what's in the best interests for the people of Chicago.By witholding the video,it is obvious he was more interested in himself than justice being served.
17
What sort of investigation is going on about the police officers who erased the video at the Burger King -- to me it seems like the most criminal thing here (the shooting was more violent, with more tragic consequences, but maybe the guy acted rashly, but these "investigators" are ruthless, calculating criminals).
13
Rahm Emanuel is unprincipled, smart and has the money to win elections. I wish that Gary McCarthy was the problem, but his departure is unlikely to make any difference. Emanuel and the State's Attorney, Ms. Alvarez, fought long and hard against one independent journalist's fight for access to the tape. Not one of the major media outlets would take that on. That is a problem in and of itself. It is not in the service of their stockholders/owners to fight City Hall. They are making noise now, of course. The city paid the victim's family $5 million before they even filed suit. If you are not angry about this murder or think it was justified, consider that: 1. Millions of tax dollars have been spent to protect the police and settle claims. Taxpayers are their employers. 2. The police union let Officer Van Donk down. He was very young when he began and was allowed to repeatedly break the rules. Where were his "brothers" when he was clearly in big trouble? I was in a union and would join one again. However, I still remember reporting a colleague for patient abuse. The union rep wanted me to withdraw it but had nothing to say when I asked "What about me? I am in the union too." He is not the first Chicago officer to wrongfully harm or kill someone, but he is going to be Rham's poster boy for his hollow boasts of being a transparent civic-minded leader. 3. If you want black citizens to police themselves, then let the Police lead the way and clean up their own house.
31
Looks to me like the Mayor was elbow deep in the refusal to release the video. Are we to believe he never saw it before last week?
27
Anyone in Chicago knows that anything McCarthy did was approved by the Mayor, who rules like a little dictator. If McCarthy goes, how can Rham justify his staying?
21
The spin will eventually be that they withheld the video in fear that Ferguson-type riots might break out. The police probably argued, at the time, that it was their job to protect and to serve, and that hiding the video protected and served the populace in the face of looming riots if the video was displayed. It's wrong, but reasons will be spun.
6
The mayor himself ought to resign. The chronology of events, proximate to his reelection, strongly portends his complicity. It is simply unconscionable that the "authorities" had the videotape for over a year and the dangerous police office was allowed to walk around freely, with a gun and a badge.<br /><br />As for those who keep bringing up the criminal acts of members of the community, in seeming justification for the criminal behavior of some officers, isn't this some sort of inappropriate comparison? How can we somehow equate the acts of lawbreakers with acts committed by those we entrust and empower with badges and guns?
116
It's about time the cover-ups and protection by the authorities was suspended. The press has covered far too many killings on the streets by cowboy cops. Much of it has not been in self-defense, or because of extreme provocation, and has left much disquiet here in the UK.
4
Boston is home to racial horrors like the spearing of an African-American man with an American flag on City Hall Plaza in the 1970's and the Charles Stuart horror - "a black man knifed me and my wife" - in the 1980's. The latter resulted in police terrorizing the Mission Hill neighborhood looking for the culprit, no search warrant necessary thank you. Boston is still an imperfect American city with serious problems about race. But for several years now when a Boston police officer uses his weapon and someone dies as a result, the incident is investigated immediately. And the investigation, conducted pretty transparently, shows that force, unfortunately, was usually necessary - and it's not just the police, or the whites, or the blacks, or any other group that agrees with that assessment. The city as a whole agrees and is able to move on. And if the result were different and the force was unwarranted I hope we would be able to deal with that too. Makes Chicago, especially the mayor's office, look like absolute amateurs. Emmanuel should resign.
4
Rahm Emanuel is part and parcel of the Democrat machine that has run Chicago and its corrupt city hall forever. More murders take place in Chicago in one weekend than happen in a year in many major cities in America. The Democrat party is incapable of bringing law, order and effective governing to Chicago. It's time for a no-nonsense conservative mayor in the mold of Rudy Giuliani to ride into town and take control. There will be no change in Chicago without the strict imposition of the rule of law.
2
Indeed. The whole State of Illinois (excluding the current governor for whom the jury is still out) should have been a mal-weather for the country at large before the voters turned it over to a big cog in that machine - our narcissist-in-chief.
2
Rahn should resign. His adminstration fought the release of the video for over a year, and then used city money to bribe the family to keep it quite. He's killing another man's career just to save his own; pure power corrupts.
39
I am interested in this. Reliable link to your claim?
1
Now McCarthy needs to throw Emmanuel under the bus for influencing the video not be released. Emmanuel would have surely lost to "Chuy" Garcia had the video released before the election.
9
He's not really killing McCarthy's career - he'll find another job. It's the $5m paid to the family for a child taken away from them due to neglect. That money could buy a lot of breakfasts for the kids in Chicago.
2
So are we to understand that the Mayor only recently viewed the controversial video tape and was, until recently ignorant of it's explosive nature? Are we being told that given the contents of the video tape, the Mayor's previous faith in the Police Superintendent has recently been shattered? This is very reminiscent of the NFL Commissioner's about face on the Ray Rice video. It makes no sense. Either the Mayor had faith in the Police Superintendent knowing of the killing as depicted on the tape, or the Mayor lost faith in the Police Superintendent following the killing as depicted on the tape. Neither of these scenarios explains why the Mayor retained the Superintendent for a year and then fired him. Of course politics explains the Mayor's actions very well. And so it goes with the young minorities of Chicago paying the price of Emanuel's political credo, "never let a good crises go to waste".
21
*Any* official who saw that video while the officer was suspended with pay should be charged as an accessory. Period.
17
The Burger King district manager told The Chicago Tribune that immediately after the teen's murder (which is indeed what it was), SEVERAL CHICAGO POLICE OFFICERS asked for and viewed the security camera tapes. More than an hour later, the tape was erased with an 80-minute-plus gap now on the tape. The cops erased that evidence, pure and simple. That's obstruction of justice, official corruption under color of uniform, etc.
When will those cops be found and prosecuted? Same goes for the officers who tried to cover up the slaying of a North Charleston, SC, motorist. Video shot then shows at least one officer moving evidence around to square with their shameless story. Oh, shades of Freddie Gray! I wonder how many people have been killed by the police and then had the crimes cop-covered for lack of video evidence. Equip all law enforcement with body cams now to save more lives later. After all, it could be your loved one who's next on the pavement.
When will those cops be found and prosecuted? Same goes for the officers who tried to cover up the slaying of a North Charleston, SC, motorist. Video shot then shows at least one officer moving evidence around to square with their shameless story. Oh, shades of Freddie Gray! I wonder how many people have been killed by the police and then had the crimes cop-covered for lack of video evidence. Equip all law enforcement with body cams now to save more lives later. After all, it could be your loved one who's next on the pavement.
53
Sounds like most of the stories relating to emails coming out of the Obama Administration. From the IRS to Hillary's private server, emails are withheld, lost and then found with regularity.
Fire Rahm Emanuel!
He was an instrumental part of the cover-up. If he's not fired he should be forced to resign.
You want to do things right, you have to START AT THE TOP!
He was an instrumental part of the cover-up. If he's not fired he should be forced to resign.
You want to do things right, you have to START AT THE TOP!
18
Firings like this happen in Chicago on a Daley basis!
17
This is the mayor's "Benghazi video" moment -- that is, the promotion of something obviously false to reduce election risk. What is it about Chicago politicians and coverups during campaigns?
5
It's a tradition like no other.
There is a similar problem brewing in Minneapolis where two policemen restrained and then shot a suspect in the head. The whole Minnesota political establishment seems to be averse to releasing the videos of the incident. The police are helping with the investigation which means they could also be destroying discovered evidence.
No matter what a suspect does the police force is not an execution squad.
No matter what a suspect does the police force is not an execution squad.
9
Syrian refugees are vetted more carefully than our own police officers. And we require them to carry weapons.
30
Please ........you compare officers who protect law abiding public (less miniscule cowboys)..with those who potentially will behead you and your family ..or worse...to prove a . religious point...please gain some perspective.
1
Rahm is just as culpable as the police chief. As the NYT pointed out in an earlier article, Rahm pushed to prevent the video from being released during his re-election bid.
21
I await the editorial from The Times expressing its outrage over coverups that happen during campaigns. Judging from its past experience, it will likely excuse Rahm for "misspeaking" and label any investigation an "inquisition."
6
It's too bad there isn't anyone in Chicago to fire Rahm Emanuel.
Deeply disappointed in him and in entire political machinery of the Second City.
Deeply disappointed in him and in entire political machinery of the Second City.
15
Now if only we could clean up some of the police here in New York City, the police here think they got away with murder and they are in the clear. Boy are they wrong. RIP Eric Garner.
8
Chicago is a monastery compared to NYC....
2
"The buck stops THERE" - Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel
13
So, Barack! What do you think of your former Chief of Staff now?
8
Rumot has it that Obama planned to fire him, and that's why Rahm set his sights on Chicago.
It seems to me that handling of African Americans by the cops and at many other places is a cultural problem. This culture of disrespect of blacks is shameful and some weak individuals can easily make a mistake, like this officer shooting a teenager. These cops are integrated members of our society, and so the broader problem is the non-black American mindset that associates blacks with criminals. So the change has to start at our homes and at our dinner tables. Else we will teach our kids the same hatred/distrust we learn from our parents.
2
Criminal justice ...sworn public officials... institutional responses to endemic institutional pathologies.The citizens have no where to go ,nor any institution whom to place there trust in.
3
Once Rahm's re-election was secured then it was only a matter of time before we would all finally see the video. And now that the Chief is gone it is high time for Emanuel to answer for this cover up. His resignation should be on the docket before the end of the day. If not, all Chicago streets may become a no man's land.
9
Now Rahm needs to go...he saw the video and stood by quietly for a year while the police "explained" that McDonald had "lunged at an officer"...er "reached for a weapon"...er "refused to comply with orders". Has anyone noticed that the most egregious police misconduct occurs in cities like Baltimore and Chicago which are in the firm control of Democratic politicians? I look forward to the day when black voters wake up and worry more about the actual policies of elected officials and less about party affiliation....
6
Why only one officer indicted??
We know that numerous officers filed totally false police reports on the shooting, starting with but certainly not limited to the shooter...
Meanwhile, why is no one questioning and indicting the CPD officers who erased the Burger King security video? Just a couple days ago, the now ex-CPD Police Chief was giving interviews claiming the Burger King video system just remarkably failed. But the restaurant manager has stated clearly it's a quality system, and has worked without incident for several years. She allowed CPD officers access, thinking they were gathering evidence of the McDonald shooting, only to discover after they left they system suddenly had its only "erasure" in all the years its been installed! And amazingly, only the 86 minutes from just prior to just after the shooting manages to vanish??
Chicago cops lied, erased evidence, and covered up a murder. There absolutely must be more arrests, or why would anyone believe anything the CPD ever say again?
We know that numerous officers filed totally false police reports on the shooting, starting with but certainly not limited to the shooter...
Meanwhile, why is no one questioning and indicting the CPD officers who erased the Burger King security video? Just a couple days ago, the now ex-CPD Police Chief was giving interviews claiming the Burger King video system just remarkably failed. But the restaurant manager has stated clearly it's a quality system, and has worked without incident for several years. She allowed CPD officers access, thinking they were gathering evidence of the McDonald shooting, only to discover after they left they system suddenly had its only "erasure" in all the years its been installed! And amazingly, only the 86 minutes from just prior to just after the shooting manages to vanish??
Chicago cops lied, erased evidence, and covered up a murder. There absolutely must be more arrests, or why would anyone believe anything the CPD ever say again?
49
Nixonian, no?
11
Predictably Chicago has selected one city official and made him the sacrificial lamb. Firing McCarthy is a start but it's not nearly enough. Every public official who was complicit in the cover up should resign including Mayor Emanuel. No public official should be allowed to tip the scales of justice and make the outcome of an investigation subordinate to his political campaign.
17
I think one big question would be: When did Mayor Rahm Emanuel see the video?
22
He's probably got a wall of fireable underlying between us and that fact.
2
There needs to be a very quick accounting for who saw the video and when. Not months from now. Who decided the public did not need to see a man shot 16 times in the back and on the ground. How did the prosecutor decide to indict for murder after the public saw the film, but not before,
Sadly, I admired Rahm when he worked for Obama. I guess the old saying is correct. Power corrupts.
Sadly, I admired Rahm when he worked for Obama. I guess the old saying is correct. Power corrupts.
18
Whois going to fire Rahm Emanuel??????????
27
Please check your facts, it is obvious from the video that the officer was at least 20 feet away when he started shooting, not "several feet" away. For some reason the media continues to adopt elements of the false narrative put forth by the CPD instead of relying on the tape itself.
9
A good, if belated, start. Next up: the officers (and their union) who worked so hard to cover up this whole mess. Cops won't stop shooting African-Americans until the shooters and their accomplices all start doing serious jail time.
5
Dude what! black men get 4 times the sentence as whites for simple non violent drug crimes! What country are you from?
1
You want real justice? Have all Chicago march on the mayor's office and demand his resignation. It's the only way to fight corruption. Let these "leaders" know they're being watched and judged. A supine public deserves this mess if it turns over and goes back to sleep after being awoken by this scandal and not getting off it's collective duff to fix it; don't wait for the next election to kick him out because we all know how short people's memories are and how easily they can be seduced by politicians. March now. It's time cynical politicians start fearing the public, not the other way around.
4
It was either him or Rahm. Just buys Emanuel a little bit more time.
3
Please ask yourself why would any intelligent stable person of any race becomes a policeman in this environment??
2
Because you get to do what you want without fear of accountability unless a civilian has it on tape?
1
I don't characterize the problem as merely resisting release of the video. I characterize the problem as failing at transparency. Numerous cities have been scrutinized in the face of the seemingly unjustifiable killing of a black man. Some cities have resolved the crisis peacefully, those that relied on transparency. And those that didn't brought a world of hurt on themselves. This lesson was clear in plenty of time for Chicago to learn how to respond in a way that would support peaceful resolution. And yes. This is at Rahm's feet.
3
Mr Emanuel has proved again that leadership counts and the lack thereof creates compounding issues.
McCarthy has had a history of making tough decisions and not be afraid to take the blame. When he was in Newark he made himself an enemy of both the police union, police leadership and the ire of angry citizens tired of crime and or their youth being locked up or harassed. It was a thankless job and he did it well. When he got on the job he found that something like 70% of the police force was working Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. He redeployed the police. He implemented data analysis to put police in hot spots to deter crime and or react quicker.
He also sat in numerous community meetings where citizens frustrated with crime vented and lashed at him. He sat. He listened. He did his best.
In the documentary Brick City Mayor Booker defended McCarthy when citizens at a community meeting were calling for McCarthy's resignation. I paraphrase Mayor Booker but he said something like - "every major city in America wants him as their police commissioner. We are fortunate to have him." He stuck by him.
CPD has longstanding, structural problems despite the efforts of probably 90% of the force being great servants. The 10% thrive because they outlast Mayors, Commissioners etc. They say "this too will pass."
Real leadership is sticking it out and standing behind people like McCarthy - not making him a scapegoat. I am sure the mayor held the video back. He was aware.
McCarthy has had a history of making tough decisions and not be afraid to take the blame. When he was in Newark he made himself an enemy of both the police union, police leadership and the ire of angry citizens tired of crime and or their youth being locked up or harassed. It was a thankless job and he did it well. When he got on the job he found that something like 70% of the police force was working Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. He redeployed the police. He implemented data analysis to put police in hot spots to deter crime and or react quicker.
He also sat in numerous community meetings where citizens frustrated with crime vented and lashed at him. He sat. He listened. He did his best.
In the documentary Brick City Mayor Booker defended McCarthy when citizens at a community meeting were calling for McCarthy's resignation. I paraphrase Mayor Booker but he said something like - "every major city in America wants him as their police commissioner. We are fortunate to have him." He stuck by him.
CPD has longstanding, structural problems despite the efforts of probably 90% of the force being great servants. The 10% thrive because they outlast Mayors, Commissioners etc. They say "this too will pass."
Real leadership is sticking it out and standing behind people like McCarthy - not making him a scapegoat. I am sure the mayor held the video back. He was aware.
7
A person of character and integrity would not allow others to take the blame when the person at the top has the ultimate responsibility. Emanuel needs to resign.
8
Unfortunately Emanuel is not person of character and integrity. He had a hand in holding that video until his primary election was won. What role McCarthy played is yet to be determined. But his resignation despite his "excellent" record supports that perhaps he is a "person of character and integrity"
4
Chicago is nearly bankrupt, doesn't have the funds to hire more police or to pay overtime. Result the intercity residents lose.
1
What Chicago needs desperately is a new mayor and a new chief of police. The absurd premise that the mayor never saw the video, trusted the prosecutor but paid out $5M to the family without a pending lawsuit and shielding the video from public scrutiny is totally ridiculous.
The police department has become outlaws with guns and the mayor has done nothing to change that culture until his butt is on the line. I await the FBI and Justice Department investigations but the smell of dysfunction, cover up and lies is all over the mayor's office.
The police department has become outlaws with guns and the mayor has done nothing to change that culture until his butt is on the line. I await the FBI and Justice Department investigations but the smell of dysfunction, cover up and lies is all over the mayor's office.
13
The thing I find interesting about these settlements, it's always on the taxpayer's dime. The last I looked, I didn't shoot anyone 16 times. This money should come out of the police pension fund. Maybe if you hit people in THEIR pockets, we'll see a little less of this covering up by others on the force. I'm sick and tired of all these stupid laws that penalize the taxpayer when someone else does something wrong. Just like with the bailouts for Wall Street. Disgusting!
12
So the CPD resisted releasing the video? Seems pretty obvious to me as to why. And if McCarthy was the one who gave the order not to release it, then his firing is understandable.
4
Emmanuel approved the $5 million payoff. He knew what had happened and was part of the cover up.
2
Law enforcement agencies are under fire for misuse of power and trust bestowed upon them by the public at large. Unfortunately this shake of confidence also undermines the morale of law enforcement personnel to effectively fight the crimes. It is the responsibility of the law enforcement agencies to restore this confidence rather than acting as unfair victims of criticisms. This situation is not limited to one city, hence President should have national conference on this issue, bring all sides together and find a way forward.
2
Shoot a knife wielding guy on PCP? Protest. Innocent kid killed by another black person. NO protest. SMH.
5
Do you seriously not get the difference between a taxpayer employee (a cop) murdering someone vs. a felon murdering someone? Go back to kindergarten and start over.
4
White man shoots cop and several people in Colorado, given chance to surrender no shots fired no protest by whites.
5
I know..
I kind of think elected officials should remain, to make certain these shootings and whatnot are never politically motivated.
It's ridiculous the video was suppressed for a year. This is why it's crucial for citizens to continue to phone record police actions, so they can easily release it to the press. How much training is needed to know you shouldn't shoot a person 16 times who isn't a threat? All around the country abusive cops are kept on the force until something really tragic happens
17
I had to laugh when I read that Deval P was appointed. As a governor he was inept as an administrator and manager. His heart is in the right place...he just is incapable of getting anything done. He is 2 levels above his level of competence.
4
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, from the day the murder happened, was part of the cover up (he was in trouble being re-elected); he is equally guilty as Garry McCarthy and probably will resign soon.
27
Mayor Emanuel is MORE guilty, since the buck stops at his desk. Who can believe that he's not the one who OK'd the $5million settlement?
Speaking of which, isn't it sad that Laquan McDonald's family agreed to take the hush money instead of seeking justice for this young man, ignoring him once again, as apparently they had his whole young life.
Speaking of which, isn't it sad that Laquan McDonald's family agreed to take the hush money instead of seeking justice for this young man, ignoring him once again, as apparently they had his whole young life.
3
Sallyb: If you are not poor and have never lived in/been trapped in an inner city poverty ghetto, then you cannot judge the families who live there. As a matter of fact, thousands of families in those ghettos raise decent kids; thousands of families in those ghettos get up early enough to commute to distant jobs; thousands of families in those ghettos do the best they can, and much better than either you or I could do.
1
This is the famous scene in Casablanca acted out in politics: "I am shocked -- shocked! -- that the police have been covering up here."
The murder took place a year ago; keeping it quiet up until now and then firing the police chief allowed Emanuel to get re-elected and allows him to look good by firing the guy who kept it quiet for him. Win-win.
The murder took place a year ago; keeping it quiet up until now and then firing the police chief allowed Emanuel to get re-elected and allows him to look good by firing the guy who kept it quiet for him. Win-win.
37
Hopefully it is more of his last ditch attempt to avoid responsibility and a prolonged public outcry will either force his resignation or at least guarantee that his time in elected office will come to an by the end of his term.
4
The police union is paying for his defense. They should also reimburse the city for the $5M settlement. It's time the unions start paying for these bad cops that they stand behind.
262
Instances like this are why unions are so disliked and distrusted. There is absolutely no reason to support this officer and the union should have stood up for the victim, not the murderer. And I support unions.
2
Absolutely....the police unions are given too much power in this country. Tax payers are paying out hundreds of millions for their crimes. No accountability. Is it a 'few bad apples' in the police forces? Or the system itself, operating with protections for whatever they do. Civilians are paying good--in lives and money.
Good luck to us all on that. The FOP is the same as it always was.
1
It is obvious that Cook County prosecutor Anita Alvarez who "concluded that there had been no evidence of tampering when police officers allegedly erased 86 minutes of video footage from Burger King surveillance cameras close to the location of Mr. McDonald’s shooting by Officer Van Dyke"
according to the Op Ed in the Times yesterday about the cover-up of the murder, is unfit to handle this or any other prosecution in Cook County.
Ms. Alvarez's handling of the investigation of officer Van Dyke's conduct is in the best tradition of that of the infamous New Orleans district attorney Harry Connick who brought concealment of evidence and subornation of perjury by prosecutors to a high art form. But for the judicial order compelling the public disclosure of the dash cam video of officer Van Dyke murdering an innocent teenager, the facts of the case may never have come to light.
Based on Ms. Alvarez's fetid conclusion, after she undoubtedly had viewed the dash cam video, that there was no culpability in police officers erasing the Burger King videotapes, there is no doubt Ms. Alvarez would have used her good offices to prevent the public from ever knowing the truth of the matter.
Ms. Alvarez should be removed from the case by the Illinois Supreme Court and subject to disciplinary proceedings hopefully leading to her disbarment.
according to the Op Ed in the Times yesterday about the cover-up of the murder, is unfit to handle this or any other prosecution in Cook County.
Ms. Alvarez's handling of the investigation of officer Van Dyke's conduct is in the best tradition of that of the infamous New Orleans district attorney Harry Connick who brought concealment of evidence and subornation of perjury by prosecutors to a high art form. But for the judicial order compelling the public disclosure of the dash cam video of officer Van Dyke murdering an innocent teenager, the facts of the case may never have come to light.
Based on Ms. Alvarez's fetid conclusion, after she undoubtedly had viewed the dash cam video, that there was no culpability in police officers erasing the Burger King videotapes, there is no doubt Ms. Alvarez would have used her good offices to prevent the public from ever knowing the truth of the matter.
Ms. Alvarez should be removed from the case by the Illinois Supreme Court and subject to disciplinary proceedings hopefully leading to her disbarment.
15
Amen! And get rid of her now. She should be disbarred, forever destined to never practice law again. Maybe she can get a job at Burger King.
1
Nonsense. She has just earned a place in an Obama or Clinton Administration.
THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH: Better late than never! But if he was doing such a "good" job, why throw Mr. McCarthy under the bus? Clearly its about City politics! So Mayor, it is time to clean house and remove few bad apples such as murders with a badge like Jason Van Dyke in barrel that are rotting the reputation of the large majority of peace officers that risk their life on daily basis to protect us! And as a past union member, it is time for the union to start protecting the reputation of its good and professional members which represent the large majority of peace officers that risk their life on daily basis to protect us!
3
"...after the city’s police department came under fire over an officer shooting a teenager 16 times..."
___
Is using the phrase "under fire" the best choice of terms to use given the volatile racial aspect this case has garnered amid the ongoing national uproar of police targeting black males?
___
Is using the phrase "under fire" the best choice of terms to use given the volatile racial aspect this case has garnered amid the ongoing national uproar of police targeting black males?
5
About time... long past time in fact.
Now... about those hundreds of other police departments across the country that run things the same way as Chicago... Also, how about those DA's that aid and abet the gross illegality of such departments. A nation-wide Police Dept. house cleaning, new training, and oversight is most definitely in order. The DOJ needs to listen to the People and put this nationwide work on the top of their list of priorities.
Now... about those hundreds of other police departments across the country that run things the same way as Chicago... Also, how about those DA's that aid and abet the gross illegality of such departments. A nation-wide Police Dept. house cleaning, new training, and oversight is most definitely in order. The DOJ needs to listen to the People and put this nationwide work on the top of their list of priorities.
21
Precisely what should be done, but don't hold your breath.
The role of the police, in American life, is no longer entirely about maintaining peace, it's priority is now about keeping the population in a constant state of uncertainty, an attempt to seed concern that anyone can be rousted by a police officer, for no reason, and during the confrontation, one has no rights whatsoever, and may not protest at unfair treatment, lest the handcuffs be clamped on, and one is hauled off to a holding cell, and charged with some minor offence.
This is how most innocent people feel regardless of color or ethnicity these days, while in the presence of a police officer.
The role of the police, in American life, is no longer entirely about maintaining peace, it's priority is now about keeping the population in a constant state of uncertainty, an attempt to seed concern that anyone can be rousted by a police officer, for no reason, and during the confrontation, one has no rights whatsoever, and may not protest at unfair treatment, lest the handcuffs be clamped on, and one is hauled off to a holding cell, and charged with some minor offence.
This is how most innocent people feel regardless of color or ethnicity these days, while in the presence of a police officer.
3
First of all, I have so much sympathy for the family of Laquan McDonald. What happened to that young man was utterly tragic.
It was also a cover-up, and the Superintendent is very likely the fall guy. As NYT has reported, Mr. McDonald was shot, sixteen times, on the cusp of a mayoral election in which Mayor Emanuel had a serious challenger.
Going forward, The City of Chicago faces a tremendous challenge. And that is that while there are officers who somehow manage to retain their position in-spite of citizen complaints about aggressive force, the flip side is that almost each and every day, citizens are killing citizens. The statistics are staggering.
I do not believe that the Chicago Police Department should be held entirely responsible. I am not a sociologist, that said, it would seem to me that the next step would be to focus, not on policing, but instead on: education, after school programs, and employment opportunities in neighborhoods that have been, and continue to be plagued by violence.
It was also a cover-up, and the Superintendent is very likely the fall guy. As NYT has reported, Mr. McDonald was shot, sixteen times, on the cusp of a mayoral election in which Mayor Emanuel had a serious challenger.
Going forward, The City of Chicago faces a tremendous challenge. And that is that while there are officers who somehow manage to retain their position in-spite of citizen complaints about aggressive force, the flip side is that almost each and every day, citizens are killing citizens. The statistics are staggering.
I do not believe that the Chicago Police Department should be held entirely responsible. I am not a sociologist, that said, it would seem to me that the next step would be to focus, not on policing, but instead on: education, after school programs, and employment opportunities in neighborhoods that have been, and continue to be plagued by violence.
9
Oh no let's not discuss non police related killings. ..that would just muddy the issue. ...
2
A cover up of the cover up, and anyone who does not believe that is a fool. The whole matter smells of corrupt Emanuel involvement. Knowing Emanuel's hand on management it is obvious. Time for Emanuel to go, a recall should be started, at once. Best the 'black lives matter' lead the way, or are they in the tank for him. The corrupt leading the corrupt.
32
The foul-mouthed ugly little mama's boy they call mayor of Chicago needs to go. He who sat on this entire thing until he was safely reinstalled needs his comeuppance for this gross abuse of police power that he has presided over. Rahm leaves a foul taste in everyone's mouth with his blatant pandering to those wealthy enough to purchase overpriced condo real estate in Chicago, from where they may look down and sneer at the poor, needy and minority people.
17
Emanuel should resign given his complicity in the inexcusable delay including releasing the video only because a judge forced his hand. He must go.
9
McCarthy is just the first of a long number of drips . . .
2
Now who will fire Emanuel?
And when will those who should also be fired, be indicted for aiding and abetting so many murders?
And when will those who should also be fired, be indicted for aiding and abetting so many murders?
17
This situation is so predictable.
White Cop kills black youth--people are outrage--White cop post bond--people are outrage--White cop goes on trial--people hold their breath--White cop acquitted on all charges--people are outrage--riots engulf city (only in the black neighborhood)--Mayor promises reform--create a commission on police violence--nothing happens--White cop leaves force, take pension, leaves town--City pay family millions--In a couple of months, the same cycle begins--White Cop kills black youth......
White Cop kills black youth--people are outrage--White cop post bond--people are outrage--White cop goes on trial--people hold their breath--White cop acquitted on all charges--people are outrage--riots engulf city (only in the black neighborhood)--Mayor promises reform--create a commission on police violence--nothing happens--White cop leaves force, take pension, leaves town--City pay family millions--In a couple of months, the same cycle begins--White Cop kills black youth......
22
City already paid the family $5,000,000. They didn't even ask for it, or hire a lawyer...
One of the many things about this case that caused people to believe there was a serious coverup going on...
I hope you're wrong about the accused officer getting off, as the video's pretty clear it was a cold-blooded murder.
One of the many things about this case that caused people to believe there was a serious coverup going on...
I hope you're wrong about the accused officer getting off, as the video's pretty clear it was a cold-blooded murder.
2
You forgot one: Black guy shoots innocent black kid. No outrage. Story takes backseat to white cop killing criminal.
5
Right on target! You crushed it! Tragically.
first, i find it absolutely mind-blowing that the CPD allowed the officer involved to remain on the force after he committed this murder.
second, this crime should finally create the pressure on police dept.s across the country to install cameras on their rolling stock, and to order each policeman to wear a camera. and no active policewoman and policeman have no reason to resist this added surveillance.
second, this crime should finally create the pressure on police dept.s across the country to install cameras on their rolling stock, and to order each policeman to wear a camera. and no active policewoman and policeman have no reason to resist this added surveillance.
8
I live a few blocks from the Magnificent Mile--my boyfriend and I walked over to Michigan Avenue on the afternoon of "Black Friday." The protests had died down considerably since the morning, and, in fact, the first thing I saw were men and women in blue, huddled together underneath the awnings of the various shops along the way. It wasn't until we got to the Apple store that we witnessed a group of protesters standing peacefully in front of the double doors, underneath that iconic glowing silver apple, chanting "16 shots!" There were no patrons inside the store--only red clad employees who stood at the top of the stairs and watched while protesters and a handful of cops across from them. <br /><br />It occurred to me then and it occurs to me now as I read this article that I, like a lot of other people, WANT to believe in the police. We WANT to trust that these men and women who risk their lives for us will protect us from harm, instead of causing it. We WANT to show them just how grateful we are for their service. Just like we WANT to believe that our Mayor wouldn't endorse a $5 million hush fund, and WANT to believe that our Prosecutor wouldn't sit on an indictment to lock in much needed votes during re-election season. <br /><br />We WANT to do all these things; but, unfortunately, you don't always get what you want.
232
The last election was this year. Chicagoans should have known better than to vote his guy back into office. I am proud to say I was not one of his supporters this time, as I had been back in 2011.
Amen!
So perfectly said. We want to respect and support the police. Unfortunately, respect is earned, and support is given when it is requested. The arrogance, aloofness, and lack of standards in today's police makes both difficult to give. Until the police unions stop acting like children that want everything and cannot see and deal with their own shortcomings, starting with personnel, then it's a long road ahead. Municipalities have got to raise standards and break unions. This is one of the few jobs where unions are inappropriate. I was a cop and did not want to be unionized.
So, the Superintendent is gone - now, what about a restructuring of the police union's leadership and membership, in terms of less "hiding behind the blue", and honest, actual cleaning up of the department? In all cities, not just Chicago? I am a firm believer in unions, feel our country and working-class people have lost an immeasurable voice; however, I do not condone closing of the ranks when wrong, or closing of the minds and eyes to truth.
12
Agree.....restructure the cop unions. They are protecting cops from accountability. This is one public union whose salaries/benefits we pay who have no responsibility to the public.
Why doesn't Rahm Emmanuel fire himself while he's at it?
36
A.: Because that would make Obama even more depressed than he already is? Let's put coal -- the Democrats' kryptonite -- in Rahm's "holiday" stocking instead.
4
Looks like Rahn Emanuel just threw Garry McCarthy under the bus, Chicago-style. Anything to win an election, I guess.
39
It is my hope that the good citizens of the city of Chicago see this for what it is, a last ditch effort by the mayor to save himself, nothing more, the die is cast, he must go
32
IL attorney general needs to perform criminal investigation on:
- police chief
- accused officer (charged already)
- police involvement at scene or after (i.e. erasing video evidence)
- internal affairs
- police officers who reviewed the incident and officer killing an individual
- the Mayor for signing off on such a payment, for supporting the chief
Finally, police department needs to review policy and procedures in firing a weapon. Why target chest versus legs and under what circumstance.
Too many killings for no reason...
- police chief
- accused officer (charged already)
- police involvement at scene or after (i.e. erasing video evidence)
- internal affairs
- police officers who reviewed the incident and officer killing an individual
- the Mayor for signing off on such a payment, for supporting the chief
Finally, police department needs to review policy and procedures in firing a weapon. Why target chest versus legs and under what circumstance.
Too many killings for no reason...
2
The Illinois Attorney General is one Lisa Madigan, the daughter of Mike Madigan, the Speaker of the Illinois House and the most important politician in the state. Emanuel's chief of staff is a former top aide to Mike Madigan.
The AG's office will open an investigation on Rahm when pigs fly. Welcome to the Chicago Way and the politics of the Illinois Combine.
The AG's office will open an investigation on Rahm when pigs fly. Welcome to the Chicago Way and the politics of the Illinois Combine.
187
No one in Chicago politics is going to cross the PBA.
2
~~~My kind of town, Chicago is ..~
If only every obstructor who refuses to release information could be fired. The obstructors in the Obama Administration should be next. Then Hillary.
3
And then all the Republicans in Congress who I, as a taxpayer, have been paying every day and all they've accomplished in the last 7 years is creating gridlock.
2
luckygal:
The difference is that republicans don't keep electing their greatest obstructors. Democrats put them in the White House.
The difference is that republicans don't keep electing their greatest obstructors. Democrats put them in the White House.
2
seems to me that the crime rate headed up up up up up under Emanual's great shift from the White House to this post of corruption and yes, I am from the Boston area so we got corruption, too. but nothing like this town, must be tough tough tough.
3
This is just political expediency on the part of Mayor Rahm. The real question now is how to change the culture of "Shoot first, ask questions later" that prevails in police departments all over this country. Sure police are scared when so many people out there can carry guns. You can't blame the police for that. But better training of police and better scrutiny of trigger-happy police officers must be instituted to start to clean up this mess that is resulting in so many deaths.
Regardless of what politicians try to tell us, guns do kill, regardless of who pulls the trigger. Too a large extent gun violence in America is the result of politicians in both parties who are afraid of the NRA. Guns are too easily available to "gangs" and all sorts of criminals. Guns can only be controlled at a national level. Local and state gun laws are meaningless if a gun bought in one state can easily be carried into another to commit a crime.
Regardless of what politicians try to tell us, guns do kill, regardless of who pulls the trigger. Too a large extent gun violence in America is the result of politicians in both parties who are afraid of the NRA. Guns are too easily available to "gangs" and all sorts of criminals. Guns can only be controlled at a national level. Local and state gun laws are meaningless if a gun bought in one state can easily be carried into another to commit a crime.
4
I don't expect him to resign before his term is over, but Rahm's toast.
1
Rahm Emanuel should most definatly remain as mayor.
In his world - everyone else is to blame - yet, the public vote for him.
Give the people what they want...Rahm!!!
Only after the masses realize how damaging his policies, priorities and operating standards are, will we purge political offices of leaders like him.
Chicago has been, still is, and always will be a cesspool mess. Yet, there he is.
In his world - everyone else is to blame - yet, the public vote for him.
Give the people what they want...Rahm!!!
Only after the masses realize how damaging his policies, priorities and operating standards are, will we purge political offices of leaders like him.
Chicago has been, still is, and always will be a cesspool mess. Yet, there he is.
2
A year later, very odd that no one heard anything about this case until after the mayoral re-election of Emanuel - Obama's former chief of staff. Even stranger, the White House was even hush hush about this case (the worse yet) again until after the election. hummm
4
And if Obama had weighed in on this I'll wager you'd complain about that too. The man just can't win with some of you complainers.
1
Love how all the Obama haters will bring him into any and every issue. This has nothing to do with him.
3
Unacceptable Mayor Rahm E. Firing police chief is a clear political stunt. Lets treat Chicagoans as an adults and give them solutions not sound bytes.
9
Mr. Emanuel must have known what was on that video. He had a whole year to know. The buck stops with him.
20
If you're going to clean up the town, you need to start at the TOP! Pathetic. Superintendent isn't the problem here.
16
Naming a commission/committee to conduct a "top to bottom" review is the classic response of politicians who just want the issue to "go away". We have to keep the pressure on to make the real changes that so clearly need happen. Those begin with the firing of the States Attorney, the resignation of the Mayor, and bringing criminal charges against those two, the Police Chief, and every cop, detective, supervisor, and appointed or elected official who played a role in the effort to cover up a capital crime.
6
How can we know specifically what "real changes" need to be made if we don't have some kind of organized review of the operations that allowed this corruption to go on?
Sorry, but the use of the word "tragic" is inappropriate when describing what happened to Laquan. (This term was also widely misused by officials after the Colorado Springs incident.) For instance, how many people referred to the Paris massacre as tragic when referring to it? Zero. Why? Because labelling it tragic would be a distraction from what actually happened. MURDER.
Well done. Now, who will fire Emanuel?
13
Sunshine.
Life's best disinfectant.
Life's best disinfectant.
10
Emanuel must be afraid. He is one for doubling down when he is wrong. He had a serious challenge in the democratic primary in the last election. He knows that his failure to reform the police and stop the ongoing police brutality given the recent revelations of torture and lack of accountability will take him down in the next primary.
4
Rahm throws McCarthy out to deflect from his own refusal to insist on release of the video, and his own failure to insist on prosecution of the kid killer. Rahm says nothing about the dirty cops who covered up the killing, and vouched for the lie about the kid lunging at officers. When they are fired, there will be change in the attitude of the cops; they'll know they are at risk for lying. Nothing changes attitudes except demonstration of resolve to weed out liars.
14
If Emanuel was interested in credibility he'd resign. This happened over a year ago and was obviously suppressed - corroborating videos came up missing; over a dozen cops on the scene said nothing and the McDonald's family was paid off. Coincidently, the mayor was involved in a highly contested reelection effort. Anyone with a minimal IQ and a shred of decency should have been able to look at that video and immediately speak up. That no one did until a reporter sued to have the incriminating video released speaks volumes about what's wrong with Chicago. When something stinks this bad you clean house, starting at the top.
2
The police cannot expect to control crime if they treat inner city neighborhoods like occupation zones. If people, even people in the process of committing a crime, believe that the police will take the law into their own hands and act as judge and jury on the street, then people will not cooperate with the police. Moreover, police lawlessness sends a signal that the law really doesn't matter all that much. Every police shooting, in every city and in every circumstance, must be investigated by a grand jury. To assure that the grand jury is not affected by district attorneys' conflict of interest (they partner with police), a special prosecutor should be in place in every jurisdiction to handle these kinds of cases. I think many police shootings are justified, but that does not mean that every one of them is and it certainly does not mean that clear cases of misconduct, like in Chicago and Ferguson, should go without consequence to the offending officer. And commanders on the force that tolerate abuses, or that cover them up, should be fired and, honestly, prosecuted for obstruction of justice if the evidence shows that this crime has occurred. The law is not just for civilians. It binds the police, too!
How do you spell police commissioner - SCAPE GOAT.
This craven Emmanuel needs to go. The shooting was murder, full stop. Emmanuel ensured the video did not get released until after his election. Perfect.
It is actually instructive to see the list of perfidious dregs that Chicago has delivered to itself and the nation - Obama, Blagojevetch, Jesse jackson (Sr and Jr), Emmanuel ... WAIT a MINUTE!!!!! they are all Democrats.
Perhaps the black population will recognize that the Democratic party has cleverly herded them into a new type of plantation; a government one run by Democrats.
This craven Emmanuel needs to go. The shooting was murder, full stop. Emmanuel ensured the video did not get released until after his election. Perfect.
It is actually instructive to see the list of perfidious dregs that Chicago has delivered to itself and the nation - Obama, Blagojevetch, Jesse jackson (Sr and Jr), Emmanuel ... WAIT a MINUTE!!!!! they are all Democrats.
Perhaps the black population will recognize that the Democratic party has cleverly herded them into a new type of plantation; a government one run by Democrats.
5
there we go again like republicans are so incorruptible and honest please look at the South and what has come out of there and i still there... from Texas to Missouri get a grip
1
He is a "fall guy",............... that is what comes with a thankless job. He came to fix a problem of 70 years and actually made some progress.
3
Actually, Rahm is also the issue. People appropriately call his city Chi-Raq (after Iraq) of all things, and the police department is reported to be operating black sites in the middle of the city to torture people for information because there's no accountability. When does this ineffective, corrupt mayor get his walking papers? Not soon enough.
3
Rahm Emanuel needs to go as well.
Isn't there a procedure the people of Chicago can bring to remove a Mayor, or any public official, who has so obviously failed to carry out the duties of his office.
And surely the superintendent needs to be investigated, since it is now clear this was a murder, deliberately hidden from the public, for one year, while Emanuel and others could be reelected without this murder clouding their prospects.
And let's not forget the deleted video tape from a Burger King, that caught the entire scene, including the murder.
Police departments, the FBI, DEA, and other law enforcement agencies all must be looked at, with real penalties imposed for misconduct, and officials fired, no matter how far up the chain of command it goes.
And we must immediately insist on a return to real law enforcement, with police deployed in standard police uniforms, instead of armor and combat gear, driving patrol cars, instead of the armed for war military vehicles that so many departments are being given by our military, in an obvious attempt to fully militarize police departments.
Our way of life is being destroyed, whatever sense of community we enjoyed is almost gone, as many of now fear our police, instead of being glad for their presence.
Isn't there a procedure the people of Chicago can bring to remove a Mayor, or any public official, who has so obviously failed to carry out the duties of his office.
And surely the superintendent needs to be investigated, since it is now clear this was a murder, deliberately hidden from the public, for one year, while Emanuel and others could be reelected without this murder clouding their prospects.
And let's not forget the deleted video tape from a Burger King, that caught the entire scene, including the murder.
Police departments, the FBI, DEA, and other law enforcement agencies all must be looked at, with real penalties imposed for misconduct, and officials fired, no matter how far up the chain of command it goes.
And we must immediately insist on a return to real law enforcement, with police deployed in standard police uniforms, instead of armor and combat gear, driving patrol cars, instead of the armed for war military vehicles that so many departments are being given by our military, in an obvious attempt to fully militarize police departments.
Our way of life is being destroyed, whatever sense of community we enjoyed is almost gone, as many of now fear our police, instead of being glad for their presence.
3
How can a police department and individual members of it be trusted by the public when they betray the public's trust in such a manner?
5
Sacrifice, meet lamb.
This is business as usual in Chicago: in the light of a major scandal, appease the voters with a firing or two and protect the Machine at all costs. Maybe Anita Alvarez is another casualty, although I doubt it.
The next mayoral election is in 2019. This mess blows over in a few months, and we go back to the usual corruption, bribery, obfuscation, and trickery that is and has been the Chicago Way for as long as anyone alive can remember.
Rahm is going nowhere and he knows it.
This is business as usual in Chicago: in the light of a major scandal, appease the voters with a firing or two and protect the Machine at all costs. Maybe Anita Alvarez is another casualty, although I doubt it.
The next mayoral election is in 2019. This mess blows over in a few months, and we go back to the usual corruption, bribery, obfuscation, and trickery that is and has been the Chicago Way for as long as anyone alive can remember.
Rahm is going nowhere and he knows it.
9
Rahm is slippery and is looking to save his own career by shining the spotlight on McCarthy. The DOJ should step in and shine the light on Rahm. Rahm is the boss. The buck should stop with him. Stand up and take the blame and resign or let the DOJ do it for you.
5
As if that will make any difference whatsoever. Are we to believe the Mayor was unaware of the events on the video? If he was, it's because he did not want to know. Plausible deniability is what's it called. Are we to believe that the politician Alverez really needed a year to decide the video showed a policeman murdering a citizen, criminal or not? Are we to believe that 86 minutes of the video from Burger King, encompassing the time the murder took place, was a technical issue? Are we to believe anyone else charged with murder would already be out on bail? What kind of people are they thinking they can get away with these actions? They think we are stupid and they don't even care what we think of them.
2
He should fire himself
2
He is up the creek without a paddle. In the old days that meant Sing Sing, but we've moved beyond the Jazz age to Manuel. The man belongs in prison.
1
I am a 60 year old liberal
and my recollection of the 60s , before the Chicago7 and the police riot at the Dem covention, was that a commonplace thought, almost so common you didn't have to say it, that a traffic stop by a chicago police officer was one of the scariest events in America for *white* people
Or, M Sahl is giving a performance in Chicago, and he asks everyone to take out their wallet with their license
and he says, take out the 10 dollar bill folded behind the license...and like half the audience does so
so, we might not like to admit it, but the CPD has been wildly out of control for decades
and my recollection of the 60s , before the Chicago7 and the police riot at the Dem covention, was that a commonplace thought, almost so common you didn't have to say it, that a traffic stop by a chicago police officer was one of the scariest events in America for *white* people
Or, M Sahl is giving a performance in Chicago, and he asks everyone to take out their wallet with their license
and he says, take out the 10 dollar bill folded behind the license...and like half the audience does so
so, we might not like to admit it, but the CPD has been wildly out of control for decades
10
....it was a twenty dollar bill!
1
May I ask a question that I've never heard brought up with regarding the massive crime rate in Chicago? For nearly two decades we have we endured the endless Bratton/Kelly rivalry in NYC. Would someone kindly explain why, not one of these supposedly "outstanding police chiefs in the United States and, frankly, the world”
have never gone to Chicago?
have never gone to Chicago?
1
Rahm Emanuel is not taking any responsibility for his complete and utter lack of leadership on combating the out of control violence in Chicago. Everyone knows why gang violence has been soaring for years under the Emanuel administration. The citizens of Chicago do not trust him and they do not need another commission to tell them what they are already know - they need Rahm to go.
2
The reports of every officer at the scene who made a report also needs to be reviewed for falsifications and omissions... And after 16 shots there was probably little hope for the kid's survival, but did anyone call for medical assistance? They should be held accountable for that, too...
9
Between the disaster that is the Chicago school system and the calamity that is the Chicago police department, a profile-in-courage by Rahm Emmanuel.
How do the people of Chicago stand this man? Does he have, at long last, no sense of shame?
How do the people of Chicago stand this man? Does he have, at long last, no sense of shame?
2
We need a federal investigation focused on The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The Mayor, The Police Chief, The PBA President, The State Attorney and every policeman, detective, investigator that participated in the coverup were withholding evidence. Every one of them took an oath to uphold the constitution of the United States. This entire issue was so blatantly and obviously a conspiracy to cover up a child's murder. Focus should be on those at all levels that participated in the coverup.
193
Do you really think Obama is going to investigate Rahm in Chicago? For withholding information, no less?
3
Yes, absolutely, and well said.
1
The Civil Rights Division supposedly has had the tape along with the other evidence for almost one year and they have not acted. Could it be that Emanuel had enough residual influence to keep the lid on? It only takes one viewing of the tape to now that the original story was a lie and grounds for the Civil Rights Division to do or say nothing.
Let's hear from the White House on this one.
Let's hear from the White House on this one.
4
This should cover Emanuel's butt for a while.
48
But the mayor went to court to prevent release of the videos. Seems to me he is looking to let the police chief take some of heat. Maybe the mayor should resign or be fired? Not sure one can fire a mayor except through a recall election.
1
Nothing like the Mayor using his Police Chief as a human shield. The outraged public should now use the Mayor as its human shield.
149
Why Journalism is vital to our Democracy. Shed light where the Mayor wanted to coverup a Murder.
116
It should also be stated that there are several claims that police removed or erased a video recording from an adjacent Burger King that provided another view of the incident. If true, these police officers should be removed from the force and then prosecuted for obstruction of justice. Nothing will change unless officials that include Mayor Emanuel, Cook County Attorney General Alvarez sincerely want to clean up the police force, holding accountable those who commit crimes in their role as police officers.
95
The question why there is no audio associated with the finally released police car video remains unanswered.
4
I would agree the Police department should be held accountable for this matter and how they have handled it. If the police truly altered or deleted footage of the matter from Burger King, this is really disturbing since it demonstrates the CPD intent at the beginning to cover this matter up.
2
ALL RIGHT! Good for you, Mr. Mayor!
2
Rahm Emanuel is every bit as responsible as the superintendent.<br/>This is a dishonorable act. If the superintendent should go, so should he.
403
Absolutely right! It's disgusting to read that comment about how Mr. McCarthy is now a distraction; Rahm is throwing an employee under the bus. Mr. Emanuel has been a "distraction" to conducting business in the city numerous times and was nearly defeated in the recent election. He should go as well.
2
The buck stops, uhm, somewhere over there.
Not going to happen, unfortunately. He is a crook a well. How would the Chicago electorate go about getting him out of office? I doubt that protests by African Americans will do it.
1
I'm surprised that the officer received bond. I am not aware of a civilian anywhere in the country who gets the option of a bond after being charged with murder---at least as quickly as this officer did. Strange!
66
check out Wisconsin...
You may not be aware of it, but bond is frequently offered in murder cases. In fact, I'd say more often than not. Now, the defendants aren't always able to make bond, but that's another story.
1
The bond was set high, but the police union raised the $150,000 (ten percent of the bond) necessary to get him out.
1
Emanuel should be next.
74
watch out for the honesty watch from upstate NY
Though not completely without fault, McCarthy is the fall-guy. Emanuel and States Attorney Alvarez knew or should have known what was going on and they failed as well. They are elected officials and cannot therefore be fired. Chicago politics as usual.
259
I agree, McCarthy is the fall guy. But, he had to know it was coming, once the video was released so late. In retrospect, had he insisted it come out immediately, he would be enjoying Christmas as the Police Superintendent. He thought he was protecting the, "blue line," and now he's on the unemployment line.
As for Rahm, he may think he can just fire the coach and talk about next season, but his hands are so dirty they can never get clean. Smart, smug, and playing for damage control. It would have been so easy to just do the right thing and let it all come out as it happened. We all know there were plenty of "meetings" about this. Hey, Rahm, a citizen, from your city, was murdered, and you were helping to cover it up.
As for Rahm, he may think he can just fire the coach and talk about next season, but his hands are so dirty they can never get clean. Smart, smug, and playing for damage control. It would have been so easy to just do the right thing and let it all come out as it happened. We all know there were plenty of "meetings" about this. Hey, Rahm, a citizen, from your city, was murdered, and you were helping to cover it up.
1
But if they had any sense of integrity, they should simply resign.
They can't be fired but perhaps guilty of aiding or accessory to murder perhaps.
“Now it is time for fresh eyes and new leadership." <br /><br />One can only hope that Mr. Emanuel will be self-critical enough re-evaluate his own position as mayor, and ultimately resign from his post. Surely the city can do without his self-serving tactics and unethical political maneuvers, which hardly constitutes leadership.
147
I agree completely, but RE probably will not. Pathetic. Sadly, typical Chicago government.
and you have lived in Chicago how long? Rahm will leave only when the citizens storm City Hall with pitch forks and torches.
1
Well Aireater, you nailed Emanuel fairly well. If he doesn't resign, he ought to be impeached and charged with concealing a crime.
1
It was clear that both the prosecutor and the Mayor were aware of the issue. You don't quickly put together a $5MM settlement and not have seen the video...
But the police are always the perfect scapegoat. I am in no way defending the actions of the officer who shot this man. However, let's be clear of the reality of policing in Chicago. A 9-year old boy was the victim of an execution style murder during the day. His father, a reported gang member says the shooting is not about him and refuses to cooperate with the police investigation.
Who would sign up to be an officer in this city? They are truly putting their life in their hands and sadly the public does nothing to show our appreciation for the 90% of good cops. I do not for a second believe the Superintendent here acted alone.
But the police are always the perfect scapegoat. I am in no way defending the actions of the officer who shot this man. However, let's be clear of the reality of policing in Chicago. A 9-year old boy was the victim of an execution style murder during the day. His father, a reported gang member says the shooting is not about him and refuses to cooperate with the police investigation.
Who would sign up to be an officer in this city? They are truly putting their life in their hands and sadly the public does nothing to show our appreciation for the 90% of good cops. I do not for a second believe the Superintendent here acted alone.
363
Possibly there's a relationship between policing policies in Chicago, and their gang problem? At the very least - ineffectiveness. Much more evidently, an internal culture which does not demand excellence and protects those who would resort to brutal methods to cover up for an inability to assess and manage the scene.
It's not as if this PD doesn't have a history of extremely poor relationships with many in the city - there's a long history of problems. And, yes, it makes it stink all the more to be a police officer there. But I'm not sure what you're suggesting - that the gang problem disappear through, I dunno - massive enlightenment and medal ceremonies for individual officers? I'm skeptical also of the heads-roll method of reform, but it at the least sends a message. If the mayor's office was complicit before, all the better to understand that they can be complicit any longer. This is part of a nationwide reckoning.
It's not as if this PD doesn't have a history of extremely poor relationships with many in the city - there's a long history of problems. And, yes, it makes it stink all the more to be a police officer there. But I'm not sure what you're suggesting - that the gang problem disappear through, I dunno - massive enlightenment and medal ceremonies for individual officers? I'm skeptical also of the heads-roll method of reform, but it at the least sends a message. If the mayor's office was complicit before, all the better to understand that they can be complicit any longer. This is part of a nationwide reckoning.
5
We have nothing against good cops. What we are sick of is the dereliction of duty by the powers that be that have REFUSED to hold the bad cops accountable. When criminals are caught they are held accountable and made to pay for their actions, but in case after case (and only because we now have access to video) bad cops get off on the standard "I felt my life was in danger" excuse and they get a pass.
Should good cops suffer? No. but if they cannot hold their own accountable then yes all cops get a bum rap unfortunately.
Should good cops suffer? No. but if they cannot hold their own accountable then yes all cops get a bum rap unfortunately.
1
Only 10% bad cops?
Even if that were remotely true, that would still leave 90% of your "good cops" as accomplices before, during, and after the fact.
In Texas, a man is on death row because he waited in a car while an acquaintance, hundreds of yards away, and unbeknownst to him, committed a murder.
Over and over, we're being handed a thin blue lie.
Even if that were remotely true, that would still leave 90% of your "good cops" as accomplices before, during, and after the fact.
In Texas, a man is on death row because he waited in a car while an acquaintance, hundreds of yards away, and unbeknownst to him, committed a murder.
Over and over, we're being handed a thin blue lie.
4
The city settled with the family last spring, so they all knew there was something wrong here. However, replacing the superintendent seems logical. As long as police unions do not deal with racism and their own potential for violent reactions, nothing will change. And not sure how the city govt can actually deal with that.
71
Chicago, and cities in general, have no desire to do anything about it. It is not just the police. It is policy and law.
https://medium.com/@rsgat/police-brutality-isnt-the-exception-its-the-po...
https://medium.com/@rsgat/police-brutality-isnt-the-exception-its-the-po...
the problem starts in the Mayor's office. Having grown up in Chicago through the Daley years (RJ and RM) and others, there is a deeply rooted racist culture in Chicago. It is, and has been an "us and them" mentality in the city that extends to not just races but ethnicities. Rahm is the guilty party here. He should have not hidden this incident from the public for over a year.
1
The fact that the police bailed this man out speaks volumes. And the fact that a settlement was paid before the family even filed a suit is damning.
1
Emmanuel took the Times' OpEd and the Sun Times editorial board's demand to fire the chief as a quick opportunity to protect himself. Emmanuel knew about the video and did everything in his power for the video not to be made public. Emmanuel needs to resign. Now.
269
A good start, now Rahm Emanuel should resign.
275
I'm sad to see McCarthy go. I think he did a good job in a difficult climate. The city feels safer, crime is lower and he managed some very difficult times here in the city: NATO protests and this newest one, for example.
What is the devil we get next? Are we being short-sighted? Yes, work needs to be done in the police department and we shall see if it is.
What is the devil we get next? Are we being short-sighted? Yes, work needs to be done in the police department and we shall see if it is.
10
...no problem, police chiefs are a dime a dozen....main job is sipping coffee
5
Mr. Emmanuel needs to go, too. I will never believe that he was unaware of the contents of that video well before it was released to the public. I have lost all respect for him.
147
Having ever had respect for such a person does not speak well for you.
1
Why have you EVER had respect for him?
Yes he will lose his job but he will be paid his full salary for life and unlike the vast majority of Americans he will also have real health care for life at no cost. His victims however minor the crime get a life sentence in the form of a record with no hope of ever being "forgiven" by society.
It's high time these uber citizens start getting put into our regular prison system just like everyone else.
It's high time these uber citizens start getting put into our regular prison system just like everyone else.
12
Who are you talking about? There's absolutely no reason to take everything away from Mr. McCarthy.
McCarthy is guilty of obstructing justice, as are all the cops who witnessed the murder, Rahm Emanuel and Anita Alvarez.
All of them deserve to be convicted, have their benefits removed and spend years in prison.
All of them deserve to be convicted, have their benefits removed and spend years in prison.
2
For those who don't think he did a good job, look at the protest in Chicago, vs the protests anywhere else in the country. No looting, no fires... Now they will be forced to promote one of deputies that are hand picked by Chicago Aldermen and have zero smarts, but powerful friends.
4
patg – Good point, but a lot of the credit for lack of riots & looting should be given to the community activists who rightly called for only peaceful protests, which worked for MLK.
4
One down, Rahm Emmanuel to go.
41
Also ALL of the cops who helped cover up the murder and Anita Alvarez who did the same.
4
Rahm had no choice, but his lack of sensitivity and bullying behavior up to now justifies any and all cynicism regarding his actions.
It's easy to fire someone, but let's see what he does next.
It's easy to fire someone, but let's see what he does next.
11
It's the right thing to do, though there were quite a few opportunities to do this before it became a complete PR maneuver.
8
Rahm will get flack for being decisive. Political or not, he was/is decisive. Wish our military had the same level of action ... particularly with regard to the Doc w/o Borders debacle in Syria. And so much more. External and independent inquiries are need all over. From city to state to national.
3
Decisive?!?! He sat on that video for over a year before bring charges.
3
Rahm'd still be sitting on it without the judge's order.
3
Indeed, He decisively decided to obstruct justice, Ken.
2
#recallrahm or #impeachemanuel. Either one works. It's no coincidence that the video wasn't released during his run-off election and only released do the Freedom of Information Act and a judge's order.
143
How is this different from President Obama's promoting false narratives during his campaigns? If you want to read his most misleading statements on terrorism, compile his words during his campaigns.
No coincidence at all--this is a resigning offense if there ever was one. Our politics in this state and city are so autocratic though that we probably need the pressure of a federal inquiry. Time for Justice to get involved....
1
How is the moon made out of green cheese? Why bring up Obama here? What's the relevance to this article and this issue?
5
How is this going to make Chicago safer
11
It will possibly make African American Chicagoans safer from the occupying army of the police.
2
The police always protect their own. They'll try to make this the end of it, but there's more, much more.
16
I respectfully disagree with the letting go of McCarthy. He has unfortunately become the sacrificial lamb for the Chicago police department. The case that this firing is based on is probable anywhere in the U.S. regardless of demographic context. Emanuel is simply trying to avert the miscellany upheaval seen in Baltimore and Ferguson by seemingly "doing something about it."
10
Not in defense of the police chief, but the issues are so much bigger than any one person. They are the accumulation of a political system gone awry.
We have to recognize there is now a double-distilled gangbanger class, who have much in common with ISIS, in the sense they are young men with no future, no ability to earn a living, and a nihilistic view of life that celebrates and embraces death.
We have created this class of people by neglect and continued compromise, letting the teachers unions not teach them as they grow up, creating paid incentives for them to be born into drug ridden welfare households, never (ever) a father in sight, as a result of government economic incentives to keep the mother single. All as per terribly misguided government policies.
This is the sum result of over a trillion dollars of Great Society spending, all well intended, all gone terribly wrong, bad policy with an awful outcome.
An ultra-toxic new strain of killers on the streets, vastly lowering the quality of life for all Chicagoans. One cop more or less is irrelevant in the light of the larger societal dysfunction.
We have to recognize there is now a double-distilled gangbanger class, who have much in common with ISIS, in the sense they are young men with no future, no ability to earn a living, and a nihilistic view of life that celebrates and embraces death.
We have created this class of people by neglect and continued compromise, letting the teachers unions not teach them as they grow up, creating paid incentives for them to be born into drug ridden welfare households, never (ever) a father in sight, as a result of government economic incentives to keep the mother single. All as per terribly misguided government policies.
This is the sum result of over a trillion dollars of Great Society spending, all well intended, all gone terribly wrong, bad policy with an awful outcome.
An ultra-toxic new strain of killers on the streets, vastly lowering the quality of life for all Chicagoans. One cop more or less is irrelevant in the light of the larger societal dysfunction.
178
Did you seriously just blame the ability for teachers to bargain collectively, for the state of Chicago's gang scene?
Your perception of cause and effect is heavily polluted by your overconsumption of right wing ideological propaganda.
One could just as easily say we created this class of people by underserving black communities in the realms of job opportunities, police protection, mental health services, and competitive public education.
While equally plausible and valid, my statement isn't designed to suggest that government spending breeds criminals, like yours is.
Your perception of cause and effect is heavily polluted by your overconsumption of right wing ideological propaganda.
One could just as easily say we created this class of people by underserving black communities in the realms of job opportunities, police protection, mental health services, and competitive public education.
While equally plausible and valid, my statement isn't designed to suggest that government spending breeds criminals, like yours is.
7
I see you've read John DiIulio's breathless manifesto warning of the rise of juvenile "superpredators" from 1996. Same rhetoric, same racism, same hysteria. Just as wrong, then and now.
This article is about corrupt, killer cops in a corrupt municipal political system, yet you warn of the enemies they face on the streets in apocalyptic terms. I can avoid the bad parts of town, just as I can pass on a tourist visit to lovely Syria or Afghanistan, but the police work for us and are everywhere, armed to the teeth and too often trigger-happy.
That is a much more real and present danger to all of us.
This article is about corrupt, killer cops in a corrupt municipal political system, yet you warn of the enemies they face on the streets in apocalyptic terms. I can avoid the bad parts of town, just as I can pass on a tourist visit to lovely Syria or Afghanistan, but the police work for us and are everywhere, armed to the teeth and too often trigger-happy.
That is a much more real and present danger to all of us.
10
Good analysis!
1
Who gets/has the power to fire Rahm?
Seriously.
Seriously.
25
The citizens of Chicago can fire Rahm. They missed out the last time they had the chance.
That they elected him in the first place tells me that they are not to be trusted.
That they elected him in the first place tells me that they are not to be trusted.
Rham is seeking either the Governor's office or a Senate seat in the future. He has to 'appear' to be outside the collusion of 'the blue line'. He is as crooked as they come.
29
A good start. Next, fire Rahm who set in motion the policies and politics that are eating at Chicago. Then fire the polarizing president that set Rahm on his way and who has torn apart race relations in America and poisoned and polarized the debate so that we are trapped in a very bad place with few visible options to improve things.
3
Well, when evidence may disappear and it seems to be allowed for the sake of elections - what can we expect. Let the chips fall.....Good riddance.
3
A few more firings are necessary, Rahm, before some semblance of justice can be had. Your own comes to mind.
119
It's not the police, it's not everyday people, it's not the politicians, IT'S the GUNS. Automatic weapons in the hands of those who place no value on life. It has nothing to do with race, blacks are killing blacks and whites, whites are killing blacks and whites. IT'S the GUNS.
21
Your post seems a bit off. Actually, completely off,
It was a gun in the hands of a policeman who took it upon himself to shoot a Black, not a white, in the back. Are you saying police should not have guns? Are you saying police don't shoot unarmed Black men as often as unarmed whites as that simply isn't true.
It was a gun in the hands of a policeman who took it upon himself to shoot a Black, not a white, in the back. Are you saying police should not have guns? Are you saying police don't shoot unarmed Black men as often as unarmed whites as that simply isn't true.
3
Where does "the buck stops" in Chicago? Certainly not at Mayor Emanuel's desk and to make the farce greater he names "a five-person commission".
57
This is absurd. If Rahm believes McCarthy should go, then Rahm should resign too.
180
Time indeed for a positive change. It will be very interesting to see who becomes the next superintendent. Will it be someone strong and accepted by the rank and file, someone capable of standing up to the rancid political system here in Chicago, or will it be Emanuel's puppet, worse yet, a puppet for the less than sterling segment of our black leaders who for years have been calling for a black superintendent that they can manipulate?
7
Anyone "accepted by the rank and file" is someone who will protect cops from being held accountable.
2
That's your predjuce, and it makes a nasty assumption that all Chicago cops are crooked. Not so!
Ol' Rahm knows how to play the game. Fires the police superintendent on the same day the NY Times article recommends it. The superintendent is the perfect scapegoat. Probably was only doing what he was ordered to. And, I must say, he looks the part....
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I doubt the NYT editorial had anything to do with Rahm Emanuel firing Chief McCarthy. But that doesn't change the questions that Emanuel has to answer about his own knowledge of the video. It is impossible for me to believe that he didn't know - the only question is for how long. I guess the voters in Chicago will decide.
By far the more damaging issue (in this case, but also the other cases where videos directly contradict police officers' version of events) is why do the police and their elected bosses try to sell the public on versions of events that are simply untrue and demonstrably so? And in this case, why would they make the problem worse by suppressing the evidence? The police have amazingly hard jobs to do, but their jobs are only made worse when they are exposed as liars. I certainly hope that body cameras become a requirement for all departments so we can be assured that when we get a police report or hear a statement, we can have confidence that it is truthful.
By far the more damaging issue (in this case, but also the other cases where videos directly contradict police officers' version of events) is why do the police and their elected bosses try to sell the public on versions of events that are simply untrue and demonstrably so? And in this case, why would they make the problem worse by suppressing the evidence? The police have amazingly hard jobs to do, but their jobs are only made worse when they are exposed as liars. I certainly hope that body cameras become a requirement for all departments so we can be assured that when we get a police report or hear a statement, we can have confidence that it is truthful.
3
It's funny that law enforcement officials believe they need access to all video surveillance and all phone logs to fight crime but when the crime is potentially committed by one of their own, well then no one should have access to it.
441
Yes. You're right. Truth is a two-edged sword.
Law enforcement officials do indeed need access to all video surveillance and phone logs, and, to fight crime, a great deal more than they have already. In this case, the crime was committed by a policeman, and it is by means of a video that he has been incriminated.
In general, for the safety of children, all "toddlers" should be fitted with electronic tags, personalised if desired, and in larger sizes as they grow, but not to be dispensed with until they are eighteen. I've no doubt a certain kind of legalist would want to see violations of civil liberty in that; but parents whose children have been abducted, or abused, or peer-pressured into wrong-doing, might think differently; and if people at the age of majority had the choice, I suspect many, particularly females, would choose to keep it, for personal protection.
Law enforcement officials do indeed need access to all video surveillance and phone logs, and, to fight crime, a great deal more than they have already. In this case, the crime was committed by a policeman, and it is by means of a video that he has been incriminated.
In general, for the safety of children, all "toddlers" should be fitted with electronic tags, personalised if desired, and in larger sizes as they grow, but not to be dispensed with until they are eighteen. I've no doubt a certain kind of legalist would want to see violations of civil liberty in that; but parents whose children have been abducted, or abused, or peer-pressured into wrong-doing, might think differently; and if people at the age of majority had the choice, I suspect many, particularly females, would choose to keep it, for personal protection.
That was Rahm calling that shot, not the police.
And the mayor knew nothing of the contents of the video before it was released? That seems more than far-fetched. His constituents need to fire him.
305
Yes, according to press reports, Rahm Emanuel said he had not seen the video until last week.
The city of Chicago paid the victim's family a multimillion dollar settlement with a confidentiality clause months ago, and the city's mayor did not even SEE THE VIDEO at that time? Why not? It's just not credible. If he really did not see it, then he is simply incompetent.
Come again Mr. Emanuel. Let's start this discussion over and review if and how the timing of the mayoral election played into the case.
The city of Chicago paid the victim's family a multimillion dollar settlement with a confidentiality clause months ago, and the city's mayor did not even SEE THE VIDEO at that time? Why not? It's just not credible. If he really did not see it, then he is simply incompetent.
Come again Mr. Emanuel. Let's start this discussion over and review if and how the timing of the mayoral election played into the case.
5
It is very possible that he did not see the video. It is classic basic plausible deniability. The major and his staffers "knew" not to show the video. He then could claim if he saw it he may have acted differently. Classic. Horrible. But standard for savvy folk like Emanuel. I can almost hear it "Don't show me the video or say anymore ... I cannot see the video until after the primary at least.
2
Regarding firing the Mayor, we constituents missed that particular boat the last time around. There were choices in the last election, and most of us either took a pass on the opportunity, or voted for Rahm Emanuel. I take no particular pride in the fact that I voted for someone else, because he lost; I guess that I should have worked harder to get others to vote Chuey Garcia as well.
3
It will certainly be interesting to learn at what point Rahm Emanuel knew of Garry McCarthy's suppression of the video. This certainly smells like Emanuel would throw his grandmother under a bus if he thought it might salvage his political aspirations.
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He learned from the best - how many members of his Cabinet and staff has Obama thrown under the bus over the years? I'd be surprised if Emanuel hadn't picked up some of Obama's tactics while at the White House.
8
Where's Howard Baker when you need him? "What did he know and when did he know it?"
6
I disagree about Obama but I'm sure some of the worst tactics that occurred during Obama's first years came from Rahm.
5
Every police official who viewed that video and didn't call out that it was an execution is complicit and deserves to be indicted in a criminal conspiracy to cover up First Degree murder. We do have something called a "Whistleblower Law" to offer protection. Excusing any person's behavior by claiming a need for moderation and going along with a system is overshadowed by the moral issue and the political one that the highest value here is Trust in a system that is designed to protect criminals in uniform. There should be not just a firing, but a slew of criminal indictments. This is our own domestic Abu Graib (sp?)