Two Years After Laquan Shooting, Activists Say 'Justice Still Has Not Happened'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- On the second anniversary of Laquan McDonald being fatally shot 16 times by a Chicago Police officer, activists gathered at City Hall to say there is still a lot of anger and unfinished business in the community.
Rev. Gregg Greer, who heads the Chicago chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, acknowledged there have been changes in the Police Department since McDonald was gunned down and Officer Jason Van Dyke was charged with his murder.
"Laquan was our benchmark, so we're here to honor his life; but at the same time we're sending a clear, resounding message that justice still has not happened in Laquan's case, and we will not stop until it happens," he said.
Tio Hardiman, president of Violence Interrupters Inc., said he has little faith in the police reforms underway in Chicago.
"It's not going to work, because the spirit is not right. It's not done in the right spirit. It's done in a spirit of coverup, compromise, and political cronyism and favors,' he said.
Hardiman is among those still calling for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to resign over his handling of the McDonald case.
Eric Russell, of the Tree of Life Justice League, said the mayor should step down for keeping the video of the shooting under wraps, and more.
"There is blood on the mayor's hands. I imagine right now the mayor is somewhere back in his office trying to wash the blood of our community off of his hands, like Pontius Pilate," he said.
Video of McDonald's shooting was not made public until more than a year after his death, after a judge ordered its release. The Emanuel administration agreed to pay a $5 million settlement to McDonald's family before they filed a lawsuit, just weeks before the mayor faced a runoff in his bid for re-election in 2015.
The mayor has claimed he did not see the video of the shooting until it was released to the public, and defended his handling of the controversy. He has apologized for the shooting and acknowledged the prolonged investigation into the shooting has undermined the public trust in the Police Department, but said he will not resign.
In a statement Thursday, the mayor called the shooting "a wake-up call for our city," and said he would continue to work on necessary police reforms.
