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Protesters to rally after latest Chicago police videos

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Police say they shot and killed an 18-year-old man who was in a stolen Jaguar that sideswiped a squad car. The public is set to get its first look at videos related to the shooting Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. The release marks the first time the city will make public such material in a fatal police shooting under a new policy that calls for it to do so within 60 days.

CHICAGO >> Protesters are planning to gather Saturday for a rally and march that’s expected to focus on last month’s Chicago police shooting that killed Paul O’Neal, a black 18-year-old.

Nine videos released Friday showed Chicago police firing repeatedly at a stolen car as it careens down the street away from them. O’Neal, who was driving the car, was handcuffed after a chaotic foot chase through a residential neighborhood.

The rally and march was originally slated to start at the Chicago park where 50 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. called for fair housing, but organizers of a festival related to a newly unveiled King memorial in Marquette Park asked that the demonstrators move their rally.

Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has stripped three of the officers of their police powers after a preliminary investigation concluded they had violated department policy. Johnson promised Friday that that if the officers acted improperly, they would “be held accountable for their actions,” though authorities have not detailed the specific policy, nor identified the officers.

It was the city’s first release of video of a fatal police shooting under a new policy that calls for such material to be made public within 60 days.

That and other policy changes represent an effort to restore public confidence in the department after video released last year showed a black teenager named Laquan McDonald getting shot 16 times by a white officer. The McDonald video sparked protests and led to the ouster of the former police superintendent. The officer who shot him is now awaiting trial on murder charges.

The head of the Independent Police Review Authority, the agency that investigates Chicago police misconduct, called the footage of the O’Neal shooting “shocking and disturbing.” She did not elaborate.

Attorney Michael Oppenheimer, who represents O’Neal’s family, said the video showed officers taking “street justice into their own hands.”

A memorial for King’s Aug. 5, 1966, march was unveiled Friday at Marquette Park. A march and festival were scheduled for Saturday, with The Rev. Jesse Jackson and Ilyasah Al-Shabazz among the speakers, and Rakim, Vic Mensa and Brother Ali among the slate of performers.

9 responses to “Protesters to rally after latest Chicago police videos”

  1. Keonigohan says:

    Some more #FreeStuff coming!

  2. Blunt says:

    If someone stole my nice black Jag I’d shoot him in the back after he crashes it into a police car. Why is this so hard to understand. All the cops involved will be acquitted just like all the cops in the USA. In the heat of all the excitement chasing a speeding car driven by a crazy perp willing to do anything to escape nobody is going to go over the rules of engagement. Stop him at all costs even if it means killing him. Cannot let him get away to do it all again. Stop the Popo NOW!

  3. soundofreason says:

    From another article CNN ” “I want everybody to know that Paul had goals.”>>> Yes, and he was willing steal everyone else’s stuff to obtain them.

    “Police cannot legally shoot fleeing suspects unless they pose a threat to an officer’s life or unless the officer has a good-faith belief the suspect poses a substantial danger to the public”>>> Already demonstrated he WAS a danger to the public recklessly driving through public streets causing accidents. Who’s to say he wouldn’t have carjacked another car if allowed to get away and continue to flee.

    So, here’s the bottom line. “Individuals” who choose NOT to commit crimes, then run, then fail to follow police commands, are much less likely to get shot BY police so….don’t do that.

  4. dontbelieveinmyths says:

    Why doesn’t this article mention the thug deliberately ramming the STOLEN car head on into the cops car, before the shooting and chase went down? The media again trying to incite racial divide by portraying the criminal to be a “good guy”.

  5. etalavera says:

    Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Don’t want to get shot? Don’t steal cars, don’t lead police on a pursuit, then don’t ram into police vehicles when trying to evade arrest. Pretty simple really.

  6. HanabataDays says:

    Shot in the back while fleeing. Hey, are they sure the Chicago cops aren’t getting firearms training from HPD?

    BTW the body cam video shows them shooting at the fleeing car while a Chicago PD car is approaching the other way down that narrow street directly in the line of fire. Firing at a fleeing car almost a block down the street, while a marked PD cruiser with gumballs flashing is in the same field of fire, is a major violation of both firearms training and discipline.

    • Blunt says:

      No jury will convict. Weren’t all the guilty cops who were acquitted in the police transport van from Chicago also? The Popo stole a super nice car, drove like a madman at high speed and nearly sideswiped a blocking police car. No time to think about rules. Emotions take over. The cop was only being human when he shot at the car before he rammed another. The jury will think, “There for the grace of God go I”.

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