Nov 21, 2015
The Laquan McDonald Video Will Not Cause Violent Protests.
Stop speaking lies that protect police officers who murder WeThePeople of Chicago.
On October 20, 2014, Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke executed 17 year-old Laquan McDonald. Immediately after the shooting, FOP spokesman Pat Camden lied about the events, claiming that Laquan lunged at Van Dyke with a knife. The truth is Laquan was 12–15 feet away from police and walking away from them when Van Dyke started shooting at him. Pat Camden has not retracted this lie and the media is still reporting it.
WeThePeople of Chicago have not seen the dash-cam video of Laquan’s murder, but we know that it shows an outrageous use of excessive force. We know this because the City’s lawyer advised the City Council to pay the victim’s family $5 million before the family could even file a civil suit. We know our Aldermen voted 47–0 to accept this advice. We also know that a witness at the scene described the events to investigators and John Kass, a conservative Chicago Tribune columnist. According to the witness, Laquan wasn’t lunging at anyone with a knife, he was looking for a way out, and he was walking away from them when Van Dyke “executed” Laquan.Van Dyke shot Laquan a stunning 16 times. The other five officers on the scene never pulled a trigger. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/kass/ct-police-shooting-video-kass-met-1111-20151110-column.html.
Yesterday, I was privileged to be in the packed, standing-room-only courtroom when Cook County Judge Valderrama issued a ruling that was right on the law and served up the first small measure of justice for Laquan McDonald and WeThePeople of Chicago. The judge ruled in favor of independent journalist Brandon Smith on his FOIA request for a copy of the dash-cam video. The City of Chicago forced Mr. Smith to file suit by delaying its response to Mr. Smith’s FOIA request, feigning consideration, and after months of lying to Mr. Smith, finally refusing to produce the video. The City fought Mr. Smith’s case without legal justification and Mr. Smith won. Late yesterday afternoon, the City announced it would not appeal the Court’s order which means the video will be released to Mr. Smith no later than November 25th.
Assuming There Will Be Violence Is A Racially Divisive Con
Local and national news outlets were present for the Court’s ruling and interviewed the lawyers for Laquan’s mother as well as Brandon Smith and his lawyer Matt Topic. Many reporters immediately jumped at the opportunity to assert that release of the video will cause violent protests, one even asking about threats to police. Today, astonishingly, #BlackTwitter has repeated this trope.
Let’s check our premises. Violence? What violence? Violence by whom?There haven’t been violent protests in the City of Chicago since the 1960's. So ask yourself before you repeat this ugly divisive con, why are the City of Chicago and the media repeating it? Why are the City of Chicago’s public servants wringing their hands over the potential for violent protests but not about the actually violent, mudering members of the Chicago police force?
No Chicago activists or protestors have threatened violence. NONE. There has been plenty of reasons for violence in the City of Chicago over the past three years alone. The City of Chicago and its Police Department, the biased IPRA (http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/30285-how-the-gold-standard-of-police-accountability-fails-civilians-by-design), incompetent Cook County Prosecutor Anita Alvarez, and the FOP have done nothing to stop rogue police officers from murdering our black neighbors. Instead, our public servants conceal the truth from the People who pay their salaries and the multi-million dollar settlements with victims families. I don’t object to compensating the victims families. I object to the fact that WeThePeople are paying for these settlements and police brutality continues unabated. Nevertheless, there have been no violent protests:
- On March 21, 2012 off-duty CPD Officer Dante Servin aimed his gun at a handful of blacks kids in a car, pulled the trigger and murdered Rekia Boyd who was an innocent bystander. The City of Chicago paid her family $4.5 million dollars. Look at this beautiful young woman and tell me you’re not outraged that Dante Servin still remains on the Chicago police force.
ONLY Peaceful protests followed Rekia’s murder
- On October 12, 2014, Ronald “RonnieMan” Johnson, a 25 year-old black man with five young children was murdered by Detective George Hernandez for being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time.
RonnieMan died from multiple gunshot wounds and the Cook County ME’s office ruled his death a homicide. Witnesses say RonnieMan did not have a gun, but the police still claim he was shooting at them and they fired in self-defense. RonnieMan’s mother has been fighting for the release of the dash-cam video. The City has refused to produce it. Detective George Hernandez has not been charged with any crime and is apparently still on the police force. http://www.stopkillingourpeople.com/#!ronnieman/cwcb.
Still there have been only peaceful protests.
- A mere 8 days after RonnieMan’s murder, on October 20, 2014, Laquan McDonald was executed by Officer Jason Van Dyke. In the past 14 months, the IPRA has conducted no investigation. The IPRA abdicated its responsibility to Cook County Prosecutor Anita Alvarez who is owned by the Chicago Police. Van Dyke is still a member of the Chicago Police force, and no charges have been brought against him.
Still only peaceful protests have been held.
- On April 20, 2015, in the single most outrageous act of racial injustice this City has committed in the last 40 years, Anita Alvarez tanked the prosecution of Dante Servin, by intentionlly failing to charge Servin with first degree murder, which resulted in the judge directing a verdict in Servin’s favor. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/04/24/1379966/-Smoking-Gun-Prosecutor-Anita-Alvarez-deliberately-undercharged-officer-who-killed-Rekia-Boyd.
Notwithstanding this stunning injustice, only peaceful protests followed.
None of these peaceful protests have grabbed the attention of Chicago’s local press. Instead the press and our public servants insult us with their repeated assertions that violence will be caused by the release of a video showing Officer Jason Van Dyke executing Laquan McDonald. Seriously? The video will cause violence? No No NO!
The video of Laquan’s execution will not cause violence.
Mayor Emanuel, Superintendent McCarthy, the FOP, local and national reporters, and Twitter have absolutely no basis for believing there will be violent protests after this video is released, yet all keep repeating it.
Why? Because our civil servants Mayor Emanuel, Superintendent McCarthy, the FOP and Cook County Prosecutor Anita Alvarez all have a vested interest in publicly declaring there will be violent protests. They want to instill fear. Their personal interests are served by insuring the City of Chicago remains racially divided. Yes. I just said it. They want the City divided because when the many white Chicago voters who aren’t woke see this video, they will be shocked awake and they will not be able to go back to sleep.
The video will divide the City, but make no mistake — the division will not be between white and black people. The division will be between white people: those who are racists and those who are simply ignorant because they are privileged and grew up believing police protect and serve, were taught police were heroic and deserved our respect, they know good police officers, and the goddamned nightly news does not cover the atrocities Chicago police commit against black people in this city. Our public servants know, far better than I, that the number of racists in Chicago are minimal compared to the number of white folk who are simply asleep. And when these white folk wake up they will be aligned with black people against the public servants who have repeatedly lied to them.
If Carol Marin or Jay Levine or any of the other local, long-respected reporters possess the independence and courage to show the video on the 10 pm news, white people will see it and they will be just as horrified as black people. White people who vote will see it. White people and black people voting against this atrocity means Mayor Emanuel, his pal Garry McCarthy, and their flunky Anita Alvarez will be out of office — perhaps before the next election.
The overwhelming evidence demonstrates that all our Chicago “public servants” care about is maintaining their political power. They don’t care a wit about the People of this great city. If they cared, Dante Servin would have been fired, charged and convicted of first degree murder; the IPRA investigations of Detective George Hernandez and Officer Jason Van Dyke would have been completed by now and they would have been charged with first degree murder — if not convicted. But no, all our government officials care about is keeping their power and to keep it, they must maintain a racial divide in Chicago and protect killer cops. They need the violent trope repeated. They need us afraid. They need us asleep. This does not serve our interests. So stop repeating it!
A Video Cannot Cause Violent Protests
Although local activists are calling for peaceful protests and have only engaged in peaceful protests, is it possible some violence will be done after the video of Laquan’s execution is released? Sure, it’s possible, but let’s all get one important fact straight. If there is violence, the video will not be the cause.
If there are some who commit violence during peaceful protests, the cause will be Mayor Emanuel’s indifference and inaction; his failure to use his power to force changes in the Chicago Police Department. The cause will be Superintendent McCarthy’s arrogant indifference, his failure to fire Dante Servin notwithstanding the IPRA’s recommendation, and his statement, after the directed verdict in favor of Dante Servin, that Servin should not have been charged. The cause will be the IPRA’s failure to recommend discipline against Dante Servin in any of the 10 citizen complaints filed against him before he murdered Rekia Boyd and its refusal to recommend discipline against Jason Van Dyke in the 18 citizen complaints filed against him before he murdered Laquan McDonald, including one that resulted in a judgment against Van Dyke for excessive force that the People of Chicago funded. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-police-shooting-16-shots-04---met-20150425-story.html. The cause will be the awakening of WeThePeople of Chicago to the lies our public servants have told, the fraud they’ve committed against us, and the violence they’ve unleased on our streets.
So if you need to talk about the possible violence, talk about this. Report it. Post it. Tweet it — not our despicable public servants’ reprehensible lies.
