Members of churches, unions, and community organizations will fan out from the Water Tower at 806 N. Michigan Ave. onto the Magnificent Mile next week Friday, "Black Friday," to ask shoppers to boycott the major retailers there during the holidays, to underscore their determination to seek justice for Laquan McDonald, who was murdered by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke on October 20, 2014.
Although Van Dyke has been indicted for first degree murder - the first Chicago cop ever so indicted even though 150 young Black men have been gunned down by the police in recent years - the record of such cases throughout the nation is that not a single cop has ever been convicted of murder, even though the number of their victims is up to 1,000 every year.
Protesters will be demanding justice in all these cases, including the murder of Ronald ( "Ronnieman" ) Johnson on October 12, 2014, and Flint Farmer on June 7, 2011. Both murders were recorded on police video, yet neither of their killers have been indicted. In the case of Johnson investigators have revealed that the FBI crime lab, which examined the police recording of the shooting, doctored the recording to place a gun in Johnson's hand before he was shot.
Protesters will demand that the City Council pass the ordinance that would establish an all-elected Civilian Police Accountability Council ( CPAC ). The ordinance has been endorsed by nine Chicago City Council members.
They also demand that Gov. Bruce Rauner use his power of executive clemency to pardon and release all those in prison due to "confessions" extracted through torture by Chicago police.
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Contact the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression at 1325 S. Wabash Ave. Ste 105, Chicago IL 60605 or at 312-939-2750 .