AMU Emergency Management Public Safety

Ripple effects of the release of the Laquan McDonald shooting video

Chicago Police released the video of black teenager Laquan McDonald on November 24, and Chicago has been in state of unrest ever since. Thus far, the release of the video has led to more questions than answers.

A timeline of major events related to the Laquan McDonald case:

  • October 20, 2014: Black teenager Laquan McDonald is shot and killed by Officer Jason Van Dyke, who was responding to a call of a knife wielding man.
  • November 19, 2015: A Cook County judge orders Chicago officials to release the McDonald video on or before Novomber 25, 2015.
  • November 24: Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announces she is charging Van Dyke with first-degree murder.
  • November 24: The Chicago Police release the video, sparking several days of protests.
  • November 29: The University of Chicago cancels all classes and activities on November 30 because of a threat made to people on campus.
  • November 30: Chicago resident Jabari Dean is charged with threatening (on a social media website) to kill 16 white male students or staff at the University of Chicago. Dean’s motive was reportedly retaliation for McDonaold’s death.
  • December 1: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel fires Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy.

Action taken

The impending release of the video brought about swift action by Cook County State’s Attorney Alvarez, who [link url=”http://abc7chicago.com/news/cop-charged-with-1st-degree-murder-in-laquan-mcdonald-shooting/1097312/” title=”charged Officer Van Dyke with murder“] just prior to the video making it to the public eye. The outcry following the release of the video also brought on quick action, as Emanuel [link url=”http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/01/us/chicago-laquan-mcdonald-police-shooting/index.html” title=”called for the resignation of McCarthy“].

Was it enough?

Despite Emanuel’s action, [link url=”http://www.startribune.com/u-of-chicago-threat-came-amid-tension-over-police-shooting/359322151/” title=”skepticism lingered about his own actions“] and various individuals and groups [link url=”http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/Calls-Continue-for-Chicago-Mayor-Rahm-Emanuel-to-Resign-360052261.html” title=”called for his resignation“].

Other questions remain

A frequent question being asked in the aftermath of this case and the video being made publicly available is [link url=”http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/01/us/chicago-police-shooting-explainer/index.html” title=”why it took 13 months to release“].

Will this release lead to the release of other videos?

There was initially speculation that Cook County Judge Franklin Valderrama’s decision to release the Laquan McDonald shooting video could [link url=”http://chicagoreporter.com/judges-decision-could-lead-to-release-of-more-police-shooting-videos/” title=”lead to the release of more sensitive police videos“] in the future.

That already seems to be proven true.

The family of another man shot and killed by Chicago police in 2014 [link url=”http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/01/us/chicago-police-shooting-ronald-johnson-dashcam-video/index.html” title=”called for the release od the dashcam video of that incident“]. Ronald Johnson, 25, was shot and killed by a police officer in October 2014.

Today, [link url=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ronald-johnson-video-chicago_5660de18e4b08e945feed8d5″ title=”Chicago agreed to release the Ronald Johnson video“].

Was releasing the Laquan McDonald video the right call?

Was releasing the video the right call for public safety? For the case? For future cases? Opinions differ.

Some say that it [link url=”http://www.tmj4.com/news/i-team/flynn-wrong-decision-to-release-chicago-video” title=”is not in the best interest of due process“], while others say that [link url=”http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/editorials/2015/12/02/editorial-public-right-police-videos/76696506/” title=”public has a right to view police videos“].

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