Mayor Rahm Emanuel went on the offensive Tuesday, firing the city’s police superintendent a week after the release of a dash-cam video that showed a white Chicago officer fatally shooting a black teenager.
Emanuel called a news conference to announce the dismissal of Garry McCarthy, who only days ago insisted to reporters that the mayor had his “back.”
The mayor praised McCarthy’s leadership of the force but called it an “undeniable fact” that the public’s trust in the police has eroded.
Protesters have been calling for McCarthy’s dismissal in response to the handling of the death of Laquan McDonald, a 17-year-old who was killed in October 2014.
Officer Jason Van Dyke has been charged with first-degree murder.
Emanuel introduced McCarthy as his pick to lead the department in May 2011, replacing former FBI agent Jody Weis, who was unpopular with many rank-and-file officers who claimed Weis did not stand behind them.
McCarthy rose through the ranks of New York City’s police department and was police director in Newark, New Jersey, when he was hired in Chicago.
In New York, McCarthy rose from patrolman to an executive position and was involved in rescue and recovery efforts after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks before taking the job in New Jersey. But his time in Newark was not without challenges or complaints.
The NAACP in New Jersey said McCarthy was more concerned about improving the safety of downtown Newark than of its neighborhoods.
In Chicago, the silent video shows McDonald walking down the middle of a four-lane street. He appears to veer away from two officers as they emerge from a vehicle, drawing their guns. Van Dyke opens fire from close range and continues firing after McDonald crumples to the ground.
Police have said McDonald was carrying a knife, and an autopsy revealed that he had PCP, a hallucinogenic drug, in his system. Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez has said the 3-inch blade recovered from the scene had been folded into the handle.
Defense attorney Dan Herbert says his client feared for his life, acted lawfully and that the video does not tell the whole story.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
POLITICANS WHO CAN CONTROL THE FUTURE AND WELL BEING OF LAW OFFICERS WHO CONTROLS THE QUALITY OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND SAFETY OF OUR COMMUNITIES SHOULD NOT BE IN SOLE POSITION TO DETERMINE THE FUTURE OF LAW OFFICERS WELL BEING AND LIVELY HOOD AND PROVISIONS WITHOUT SOME HANDS ON EXPERIENCE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT.
The Daley’s made Chicago work. Emanuel is an arrogant weasel who lacks the people skills to run an office, yet a major city. He will pick a new chief to appease a certain demographic. Maybe one of the Daley kids will get into politics. Chicago ran better with a Daley in city hall.
Emanuel appointed former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to “fix” the Chicago PD. Patrick was easily Massachusetts worst governor. The Bay State had the lowest rated Children’s Services departments in the nation. The Bay State ranked 48th for road and bridge repair. Some state agencies hired his demographic group at a rate as high as 70%. even though his demographic group is 6% of the Bay States population. His first action as governor was to replace the governor’s car with a high end Cadillac and spend millions of tax dollars on renovating his State House office. Patrick travelled on foreign junkets more than any other governor in Bay State history. Chicago needs that?
Mayor Emanuel is more concerned about saving his own job than the career of the police chief. Liberal politicians like Rahm Emanuel didn’t realize that their efforts to creating a group of activists could cause them problems once they came to power.
Rahm takes after his mentor “Ovomit”. Lie, lie and lie some more! Never let a good crisis go to waste……save that crisis for re-election ammunition!
So Chicago is about to be fleeced like the state of Massachusetts was for two terms. What a friggin joke that devil patrick was hired to fix anything! but on another note where exactly are all the black lives matter people when it comes to the cold blooded murder of the nine year old BOY targeted by the gangs of Chicago? No protests? No looting? No demands for cleaning up the hood? Interesting all they seem to care about is black kids shot by cops even when the cops were just doing their jobs.
Now if they would get rid of Rahm Emanuel and the cabal that put him in office, they might have a nice town.