As activists across Chicago call for Mayor Rahm Emanuel's resignation, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton voiced her support for the mayor, who has known the Clintons for years.
At an event in Fort Dodge, Iowa, last week, Clinton told reporters she has confidence in Emanuel, despite the fallout from the release of the dashcam video showing the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by a Chicago police officer, Bloomberg's John McCormick reported.
"He loves Chicago, and I'm confident that he's going to do everything he can to get to the bottom of these issues and take whatever measures are necessary to remedy them," Clinton said, according to McCormick.
Since the video was released about two weeks ago, Emanuel has fired Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy. This week, the head of the Independent Police Review Authority and the Chicago Police Department's chief of detectives also resigned.
Many of the protesters who called for McCarthy's resignation are now calling for the resignations of Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, and some are calling for Emanuel to step down, too. Both Alvarez and Emanuel indicated they have no plans to do so.
Last week, Clinton called for a federal investigation into the Chicago Police Department's tactics, adding her voice to the growing crowd of those who wanted the Department of Justice involved.
Clinton spokesperson Brian Fallon told The Chicago Tribune Wednesday that Clinton is "deeply troubled" by the shooting of McDonald and the "outstanding questions" raised by it.
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Unlike rival Bernie Sanders' statement calling for the Justice Department investigation, which was released the next day, Clinton did not reference Emanuel or any other top Chicago officials in her statement. In his statement, Sanders asked that any "officials" involved in a possible cover-up of the McDonald case resign.
On Monday, U.S. Attorney General Loretta announced the Justice Department has launched a civil "pattern and practice investigation" into the Chicago Police Department to determine whether fatal shooting of McDonald was part of a larger widespread pattern of officers violating civil rights.
