Tensions between Chicago police officers and protesters were high Monday as demonstrators gathered at City Hall to demand a meeting with Mayor Rahm Emanuel after the release of two dashcam videos showing police-involved shootings.
At least one person was arrested during the protest, according to Chicago Police News Affairs.
The demonstration took place on the same day the U.S. Department of Justice announced a federal probe of the Chicago Police Department and as Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced she would not charge the officer who fatally shot 25-year-old Ronald Johnson in October 2014.
Johnson was killed eight days before police fatally shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
Video from inside City Hall showed officers holding at least one protester on the ground.
Community leaders said Monday they have no faith in Alvarez or Emanuel.
“I think all of us know it takes 48 hours to be transparent and to show evidence, but it can take up to 14 months to cover something up,” said Emma Lozano, assistant pastor for Familia Latina Unida.
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Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. said he is not satisfied with Alvarez’s findings in the Johnson case.
“Rush to justification not rush for justice,” he said.
The Black Lives Matter organization is expected to hold a protest Monday evening at the location where Johnson was fatally shot. They will call for Johnson’s case to be reopened and for a special prosecutor to be assigned to review it.
“The inept and corrupt handling of both Laquan McDonald’s and Ronald Johnson’s cases, reveal complicity in cover ups that go all the way to the Mayor’s and State’s Attorney’s offices,” the group said in a statement.
Another protest is planned for Wednesday where demonstrators will seek to “shut down City Council.” The event is sponsored by the Coalition of Accountability.
