Date: 12-03-2015
This lack of transparency is an outrage
Bowling Green Daily News
There is no valid reason why authorities in Chicago withheld for 13 months from the public a dash-cam video showing the shooting of a black teenager.
The graphic video, shot in October 2014 and released last week, shows 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, running down a road at night holding a 3-inch knife at his side. As police approach, he is seen walking away from them. Next, Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, who is white, gets out of his patrol car and is seen yelling at McDonald before unloading his pistol into him. In all, 16 shots were fired at McDonald, 13 of which were fired after McDonald was already struck, lying lifelessly in a prone position on the ground.
From watching the video, it appears quite clear this was an unnecessary shooting as McDonald posed no threat to Van Dyke or his fellow officers.
Van Dyke, who has had almost 20 citizen complaints levied against him in his career, is now charged with the first-degree murder of McDonald. Obviously, it is up to the courts to determine Van Dyke’s fate, and time will tell what will happen to him.
What is really sad about this case, beside the fact that a young teenager was killed, is the fact that law enforcement authorities kept this tape from the public for over a year, knowing the damning evidence that was on it.
The video had been requested before. A journalist previously filed a public records request for the video, but the city refused, alleging its release would hinder a federal investigation. However, it has since been revealed that the U.S. Department of Justice never told the city not to release the video.
It finally took filing a lawsuit before a Chicago judge ordered the release of the video of this extremely questionable shooting.
Another aspect of this case that raises red flags is that the city paid the McDonald family $5 million in April, although the family hadn’t filed a lawsuit against the city. This tells you that city officials knew they were dealing with a very egregious incident.
That being the case, it is beyond comprehension that it took so long for charges to be filed against the officer.
Why didn’t Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel want the video released last year? Was it because he was in a very tight mayoral race in the city and was afraid the release of the video might cost him the election?
We will probably never know the answer to these questions. This lack of transparency is an outrage.
Protesters hit the streets after the dash-cam video was released. They were seen and heard marching and chanting “16” shots and “We got to fight back.”
These protesters, who have been peaceful, have every right to be outraged at the city and the police department for sitting on this tape for nearly 14 months. They deserve credit for the way most have conducted themselves.
What happened in October 2014 was and continues to be unacceptable. McDonald shouldn’t have been shot, and city officials and law enforcement should have moved far quicker to release the video and file charges. On Tuesday, Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy resigned. Given the circumstances surrounding this case, we believe his resignation was needed.
Because they tried to be secretive about this video and its contents, they have put a black eye on themselves and put Chicago at risk for loss of life and destruction of property.
Chicago has had a decades-long reputation for corruption and cronyism. Under the Emanuel regime, it appears it is simply a different verse of the same song.
