It will show the shooting of a 25-year-old who family lawyers say was unarmed
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will support the release of a video showing a police officer shooting a 25-year-old black man in 2014, the mayor said Thursday. The decision is a reversal for the city which has long opposed the video’s release.
The family of Ronald Johnson III, who died a week before officers shot and killed 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, have battled with the city release of the video of his killing, the Chicago Tribune reports. An attorney for the Johnson family insists that the 25-year-old was running and unarmed when he was shot by police, but police insist that he had turned toward officers with a gun in his hand.
The video comes on the heels of protests that erupted in response to the release of a video depicting McDonald’s death, showing police officers shooting the young man as he appeared to move away from them. Last week, a Chicago police officer was charged with first degree murder for McDonald’s death and on Tuesday Mayor Emanuel fired Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy for his handling of the situation. The Mayor has also facing scrutiny for the city’s delayed response to the teen’s death.
The Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is asking the Department of Justice to investigate the Chicago police department.