Chicago, IL – A delegation of activists demanding Justice for Laquan McDonald met with an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago’s Federal Building. They presented a letter signed by 38 organizations and unions, as well as five elected officials, demanding federal charges against killer cop Jason Van Dyke.

A statement released before the protest explained, “VanDyke was given a ‘slap on the wrist’ by the Cook County Criminal Court after being convicted of McDonald’s murder and 16 counts of aggravated assault and is being released from prison after less than 3 ½ years, when Black and brown and other working-class Chicagoans are given sentences up to life in prison without possibility of parole for crimes far less serious.”

The delegation included Frank Chapman of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression CAARPR), Rev. Jesse Jackson of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, and Father Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina’s Church.

The delegation also presented copies of 49 complaints filed with the U.S. Attorney’s office in 2016 from families that had their loved ones killed or brutalized and tortured by the Chicago Police Department. To date, no meaningful action from the DOJ have been taken to deliver justice for these families.

The demand for charges has the support from the national president of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson, as well as the two U.S. senators from Illinois, Richard Durbin and Tammy Duckworth. In the recent past, federal charges were brought against the three accomplice cops involved with the murder of George Floyd, and the three white vigilantes who killed Ahmaud Arbery.

Nine protesters were arrested inside the federal building and charged with misdemeanor civil contempt, including William Calloway, a community activist who was involved in winning the release of the video of the murder of Laquan McDonald in 2015; the uncle of Jacob Blake, who was shot seven times in the back by a cop in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 2020; and Ja’Mal Green, community activist. Also arrested was Kina Collins, community activist and candidate for Congress. Laquan’s grandmother, Tracie Hunter, was with the group that was arrested; however, she was not charged.

A crowd of about 100 protested outside the building . Chicago police officers displayed their typical vicious treatment of the Black Lives Matter movement. Shasta Jones of CAARPR was at the protest and said, “A cop threatened to sic a huge German shepherd dog on me and an older Black woman.” According to Jones, the cop said, “I’ll let this fucking dog go if you don’t move!” The dog growled, and Shasta and others around her had to run into traffic to get away.

#ChicagoIL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #ChicagoAllianceAgainstRacistAndPoliticalRepression #LaquanMcDonald

Chicago, IL – A crowd of 250 people marched in the bitter cold through Washington Park on Chicago’s South Side today, January 21, to continue the fight for Justice for Laquan McDonald. The march was held in protest of the lenient sentence of only 81 months handed down by Judge Vincent Gaughan on Friday. In October 2014, the racist police officer, Jason Van Dyke, shot Laquan 16 times.

The main demand of the march was the immediate implementation of an all-elected Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC). The march went past the place where Ronald “Ronnieman” Johnson was shot in the back by a cop only days before Laquan was killed. His mother, Dorothy Holmes, spoke and demanded State’s Attorney Kim Foxx reopen the case of the killer cop, George Hernandez.

Frank Chapman of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, spoke before the march. “It’s time to organize an uprising, y’all. How many more of us do they have to kill? Now is the time!” Chapman called for the movement to “protest at the polls.”

Tanya Watkins of Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation closed the march by explaining that the CPAC legislation would establish community control of the police. CPAC has the support of 75 candidates for city council and two candidates for mayor. She condemned the corrupt members of the city council who voted in 2015 for the hush money to cover up the murder of Laquan, at the direction of Mayor Emanuel to secure his reelection.

There were several people running for alderman who joined the march, as well as mayoral candidate Amara Enyia.

#ChicagoIL #PoliceBrutality #PeoplesStruggles #Antiracism #PoliceCrimes #LaquanMcDonald

At the center of this trial are discrepancies between the reports submitted by officers tied to the murder and the dash camera footage. According to Gaffney, the officers on the scene met as a group to discuss the shooting, and later met with detectives separately. Prosecutors claim that Gaffney, Walsh, March, Van Dyke, and a few other officers met in a police station on the south side to discuss the shooting and watch the dash camera footage.

After meeting for hours, Officers Gaffney, Walsh and Van Dyke all submitted suspiciously similar statements about Laquan McDonald’s actions that night. All three officers used the exact phrase – “swinging knife”- to describe what McDonald was doing moments before Van Dyke fired his weapon. Additionally, the three officers claimed McDonald committed battery against Van Dyke, despite having no evidence to support their claim.

Gaffney, who encountered McDonald before his death, submitted his comments along with the officers who were on the scene with Van Dyke. Officer March first claimed McDonald lunged at Van Dyke and falsely attributed statements supporting the claim to another officer at the scene, Officer Dora Fontaine.

The defense attorneys have denied a coverup and have attempted to blame Laquan Mcdonald for his death. James McKay, representing Officer Walsh, claims the case is about “law and order.” He said, “It’s about Laquan McDonald not following any laws that night.” McKay later referred to McDonald as a “crazed individual” who was under the influence of the drug PCP.

The defense has asked Judge Domenica Stephenson for a directed finding, claiming the evidence is so weak that the officers must be acquitted immediately. Judge Stephenson has denied their motion.

Special Prosecutor Patricia Brown Holmes claimed the officers acted to protect Van dyke to create “false justifications” for the murder. The prosecution’s case has focused on the inflated threat of McDonald to protect Van Dyke from the full consequences of using deadly force without justification. They have argued that Gaffney should have reported the events separately, and he didn’t because he lacked the evidence. They’ve also focused on March’s claim that the shooting was justified.

This trial comes just two months after the conviction of killer cop Jason Van Dyke of second-degree murder and aggravated battery. This historic trial is exposing the blue code of silence that exists within the Chicago Police Department.

Judge Stephenson is expected to give her verdict on December 19.

#ChicagoIL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #LaquanMcDonald

Minneapolis, MN – More than 20 people gathered in a light rain at the intersection of Chicago Avenue and Lake Street in Minneapolis to celebrate the verdict in the Laquan McDonald case, October 5. The action was organized by members of Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar (TCC4J).

Participants in the action also called for justice for those in the Twin Cities who were murdered by the police, including William “Billy” Hughes, a Native American man. Saint Paul police murdered Hughes on August 5, and on October 5 – the same day as the Van Dyke verdict in Chicago – the county attorney said he would not file charges in the Hughes case. Rally emcee Angel Buechner of TCC4J said, “This may be a victory, but we need to continue the fight for other families.”

#MinneapolisMN #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #LaquanMcDonald #JasonVanDyke #TwinCitiesCoalitionForJustice4Jamar

Chicago, IL – About 1000 people are marching in downtown Chicago, late this afternoon, Oct. 5, in the wake of the Van Dyke verdict. Jason Van Dyke, a white cop who shot Laquan McDonald, an African American youth, 16 times, was found guilty of second-degree murder. Protesters are demanding a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC), to establish community control over the police department.

#ChicagoIL #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #ChicagoAllianceAgainstRacistAndPoliticalRepression #CPAC #LaquanMcDonald #JasonVanDyke

Chicago, IL – Erica Nanton calls for a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC), to establish community control over the police, as hundreds of people gather at City Hall here, Oct. 5 in the wake of the Van Dyke verdict. Jason Van Dyke, a white cop who shot Laquan McDonald, an African American youth, 16 times in October 2014, was found guilty of second-degree murder.

#ChicagoIL #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #ChicagoAllianceAgainstRacistAndPoliticalRepression #LaquanMcDonald #JasonVanDyke

Here, Chapman assesses the strategy of Van Dyke’s attorney, Daniel Herbert, the house lawyer for the Fraternal Order of the Police. The trial is in its second week. On Tuesday, Sept. 25, the defense presented an animated video that claimed to present the perspective of Van Dyke when he exited his vehicle and began firing at Laquan within six seconds.

On the defense in the Van Dyke trial

“The defense's strategy has been to put Laquan McDonald (the victim) here on trial. And the judge has allowed it to happen. The video created by the defense was just that – a ‘creation’ ignoring the controls of reality. Compared to the actual dash cam video taken from a police car, the video created by the defense was a complete distortion of what really happened, and the prosecution proved this by simply replaying the dash cam video of Laquan McDonald's murder.

Let's just walk through this for a minute.

First, the defense brings in a forensic pathologist to argue that Laquan was shot 15 times before he hit the ground and therefore was shot only once while on the ground. Whereas the dash cam video shows that after the first two shots Laquan was down on the ground and Jason Van Dyke continued to carefully aim and shoot Laquan 14 time while he lay on the ground helpless.

Second, the defense has been allowed by the judge and prosecution to call up as witnesses police officers who were at the scene of the crime, yet all of these officers originally wrote false reports as to what happened. None of them were impeached by the prosecution for having lied on their police reports.

Third, the defense has been allowed to use Laquan's juvenile record as evidence of Laquan being a violent criminal. Yet when Jason Van Dyke arrived on the scene and shot Laquan 16 time he had no knowledge of his juvenile record or anything except he was a Black suspect.

Our assessment is that there is nothing about this trial that is fair and impartial. From the time of the murder in 2014 there has been repeated efforts to not bring Jason Van Dyke to justice. For 400 days while Mayor Emanuel suppressed the dash cam video, Van Dyke continued to work as a CPD police officer and it’s taken nearly three years since he was indicted in 2015 to finally come to trial. The dilatory tactics of the defense and the judge to drag out this case has succeeded in delaying, and justice delayed is justice denied. Then the jury selection where there is only one Black person on the jury.

And now that this heinous crime has finally come before the bar to be tried it is with a presiding tyrannical judge who has held in contempt spectators – movement people, and held them incommunicado for days and set outrageous bails. A judge who restricts public participation by setting up a process that requires everyone to register to attend this trial.

Still and all, were it not for mass protests and public outrage over the murder of Laquan McDonald we would not have gotten this far, where, for the first time in the history of Chicago, a white, on-duty cop has been indicted and tried for first degree murder. If we stay focused and continue, no matter what, to protest, I believe we can make this the first time for a cop to be convicted of first degree murder of a Black person.

We are obligated to fight back and our conviction is we know that we will win. Keep coming to the trial, keep protesting – for Laquan McDonald gave us the cause that we need to sacrifice what we must to win.”

Justice for Laquan, CPAC Now, All Power to the People!

#ChicagoIL #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #FrankChapman #ChicagoAllianceAgainstRacistAndPoliticalRepression #LaquanMcDonald #JasonVanDyke

Chicago, IL – More than 100 people rallied at South Michigan Avenue and Congress Parkway, Sept. 15, to demand justice for Laquan McDonald.

According to a statement from protest organizers, “[in] this past week of jury selection in the case of Jason Van Dyke for the murder of a 17-year-old Black youth, Laquan McDonald, we have witnessed only one Black juror being selected, and this is happening in a large city where one third of its population is African American.”

The demonstration was backed by the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Black Lives Matter-Chicago, Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CTU), Take On Hate, Arab American Action Network, and the U.S. Palestinian Community Network.

Frank Chapman, Field Organizer, Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, stated, “The criminal justice system in this city and nation has taken a dive into a deep, dark racist pit where there is no shame. Selecting only one Black juror out of 12 is indicative of how low they can go. Our people don't have to send out distress signals to themselves, for we are living under the scourge of racism every day. But there comes a time when we must let the world know that we are tired, fired-up and can't take it no more. That time is now.”

#ChicagoIL #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #ChicagoAllianceAgainstRacistAndPoliticalRepression #LaquanMcDonald #JasonVanDyke

Salt Lake City, UT – Downtown Salt Lake City echoed with the chants of more than 50 demonstrators shouting, “Justice for Laquan,” “Community control now,” and “Jail killer cops,” on Sept. 5, the opening day of the trial for the Chicago cop who murdered young Laquan McDonald.

The protest was held in solidarity with the national day of action against police crimes called by the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and the National Committee Against Police Crimes.

Speakers from Utah Against Police Brutality, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Rose Park Brown Berets, Black Lives Matter-Utah, Salt Lake Democratic Socialists of America, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation addressed the crowd. They called for Jason Van Dyke to be convicted and jailed for his crimes.

They also called for community control of police, in the form of the Salt Lake Police Accountability Council, a body that could fire and discipline cops who murder people like McDonald or who engage in any form of misconduct, without relying on the corrupt police and city officials who refuse to hold police accountable.

#SaltLakeCityUT