The Rev. Jesse Jackson will lead a protest march Sunday afternoon in Chicago over the latest evidence of an official cover-up in the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald, WBBM reports.
The Chicago Police Department released documents Friday night from its investigation into the teenager’s death. Police officers at the scene supported Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke’s claim that Laquan, 17, was moving toward them in an aggressive manner with a knife. They claimed that Van Dyke, fearing for his life, fired his weapon at Laquan.
That version, however, is at odds with the police dash-cam video, which shows Laquan walking away from the officers when Van Dyke shot him 16 times, from about 10 feet away. Senior officials who read the statements and saw the video apparently turned a blind eye to the discrepancies.
The shooting happened more than a year ago, and the city refused to release the video to the public. But last month a court ordered city officials to release the video. That’s when they finally charged Van Dyke with first-degree murder.
“If Jason [Van Dyke] was fired and charged, then the nine who saw it [and] filed false reports should be fired and charged,” Jackson said, according to NBC News.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel fired CPD Superintendent Garry McCarthy last week but refuses to step down himself, despite growing pressure.
“The police chief cannot be the fall guy; nor is Jason the only guy,” Jackson said at a press conference Saturday, NBC reports. “We want the police culture cleaned up.”
Jackson supports a Justice Department investigation but is not calling for the mayor’s resignation. The minister told WBBM that he wants the process to play out.