CHICAGO — Rahm Emanuel sought for months to keep the public from seeing a video that shows a white police officer shooting a black teenager 16 times.
Now, a week after the video’s release, the Chicago mayor has fired the police superintendent, created a task force for police accountability and expanded the use of body cameras.
But Emanuel’s effort to keep the video secret and his long wait to take action at the police department has stirred deep skepticism among those protesting the teen’s death. Many activists are especially incensed by the fact that the video first surfaced during a re-election campaign, when the mayor was seeking African-American votes.
“In our community, everyone is saying it (the video) was not released because of the election,” said Corey Brooks, a prominent black minister.
The mayor’s quest for a second term sustained a setback after he failed to win the February election. He desperately needed black support to prevail in an April runoff.
But Emanuel had angered black voters with his decision to close dozens of schools. And many African-Americans complained that the city was not doing enough to police the predominantly black West and South sides.
Had it emerged earlier, the video “could have buried” Emanuel’s chances for re-election, Columbia Law School professor Bernard E. Harcourt wrote in a New York Times op-ed piece published Monday.
The mayor defended the decision to withhold the video from the public until the investigation was finished and the officer charged with murder. He said the move had nothing to do with his 2015 campaign.
“You don’t compromise an ongoing investigation,” he said Tuesday. “Yet it’s clear you all want and the public deserves that information. They’re two conflicting principles.”
Asked by a reporter if Emanuel thought he would become a distraction himself and would consider resigning, the mayor responded, “You’ll make that judgment. I think I’m doing my job.”
Emanuel announced the dismissal of Superintendent Garry McCarthy, whose departure on Tuesday came just a week after the video was released.
The mayor praised McCarthy’s leadership but called it an “undeniable fact” that the public’s trust in the police had eroded.
“Now is the time for fresh eyes and new leadership,” Emanuel said.
Protesters have been calling for McCarthy’s dismissal in response to the handling of the death of Laquan McDonald, a 17-year-old who was killed in October 2014.
Some aldermen, particularly members of the city council’s black caucus, have also been seeking McCarthy’s resignation, citing the city’s crime rate and questions about the department’s transparency.
The city released video of the shooting only after a judge ordered it to be made public. On the same day, Officer Jason Van Dyke was charged.
The mayor also announced the creation of a task force on police accountability that will help develop an early warning system allowing the department to intervene with problem officers racking up complaints from the public.
Van Dyke was the subject of 18 civilian complaints over 14 years, including allegations that he used racial epithets and excessive force. Complaints against police are not uncommon, but the number filed against Van Dyke was high compared with other officers.
