Chicago Activist: City's Call for Peace over Laquan Mc. Donald Video Does Not Extend to Police Dept. Guests. Jamie Kalvenfounder of the Invisible Institute and a freelance journalist who uncovered the autopsy report showing Laquan Mc. Donald was shot 1. This is viewer supported news. Donate. As Chicago braces for protests ahead of the release of video footage of the police shooting of Laquan Mc. Donald, we speak with Charlene Carruthers, the national director of the Black Youth Project 1. Her organization declined a meeting with Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office on Monday, as the city tries to quell impending protests. But, unfortunately, the community, or the target, that is being told to remain peaceful is not the Chicago Police Department. Copy may not be in its final form. It was just about a year ago that a city whistleblower came to journalist Jamie Kalven and attorney Craig Futterman out of concern that Laquan McDonald’s shooting a. 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We’re joined by Jamie Kalven, founder of the Invisible Institute, freelance journalist who first broke the story of what happened to Laquan Mc. Donald, actually killed October . We’re also joined by Charlene Carruthers, national director of the Black Youth Project 1. This is very unusual, Charlene Carruthers, a police officer about to be indicted for first- degree murder. Can you talk about your response to the fact that a judge has just demanded that the video be released to the public by tomorrow, as well as the officer, we believe, about to be indicted? CHARLENECARRUTHERS: So, I sat in the courtroom last week listening to the judge’s decision on whether or not to release the video to the public. And in my mind, over and over again, the narrative of that—this is not an isolated event. This is not the first time that this has happened. And there is nothing unusual about the killing of a young black person in the city of Chicago by the Chicago Police Department. And so, we listened to Judge Valderrama list reason after reason as to why the Chicago Police Department had no standing to withhold that video from the public. And so, for us, we know that videos of black people being gunned down by police officers are nothing new to the American public and the broader international public. At the same—on the other hand, we also know that between Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Superintendent Garry Mc. Carthy, there has been moment after moment of inaction and poor decision- making regarding policing in this city. We live in a city where the Chicago Police Department takes up 4. And so it says a lot to us about what and who our city prioritizes, and who we don’t. AMYGOODMAN: So, here you have this story of a white police officer, Jason Van Dyke, who shot and killed 1. Laquan Mc. Donald on October . Talk about, Charlene, when you started to understand what had actually taken place. In fact, didn’t you have a major rally in Chicago just a few days afterwards at the time? CHARLENECARRUTHERS: Well, as Jamie mentioned earlier, last year, around the same time that Laquan Mc. Donald was killed, there were nationwide protests around several police- involved killings in black communities. And we were actually—we had several protests, yeah, within that period in the wake of the non- indictment decision of Darren Wilson in killing Mike Brown. We had a national moment of silence day that we had an action here in Chicago and in other places around the country. And so, for us, the killing of Laquan Mc. Donald is one more gruesome, violent signal that our organizing to build black political power in Chicago and also nationally is absolutely essential. And so, we, BYP1. Fearless Leading by the Youth, We Charge Genocide, Assata’s Daughters, we organize every single day in Chicago. We, BYP1. 00, we organize in Detroit, New Orleans, Washington, D. C., New York City and the Bay Area, because, again, what happened to Laquan Mc. Donald, there’s nothing unusual about that in this country. And how the mayor reacted, even with having access to all the information, is absolutely not unusual. AMYGOODMAN: Now, I want to correct the date, that he was shot by police officer Van Dyke on October 2. Now, the mayor, Rahm Emanuel, who used to be the chief of staff of President Obama, the mayor invited you, Charlene Carruthers, and your group to meet with him, is that right, on Monday? CHARLENECARRUTHERS: Yes. The Mayor’s Office invited a number of black- led youth organizations, that do work every single day in the city of Chicago, to attend a meeting. The Mayor’s Office also invited a number of people who are—that the office determines to be leaders in the city of Chicago to meet with him. And so, for us, it was important not to take a meeting with the mayor in a moment where it was clear to us that these meetings, this series of meetings, was about how are we going to quell our fears—being the Mayor’s Office’s fears—about what young black people are going to do once this video is released. And so, while at the same time we know that the city continues to divest from the things that we need in our communities, like quality public schools, job creation, mental health services, things of that nature. And so, we—for us, it did not make sense, for what we’re trying to build in this city, to meet with a mayor who also allowed people to starve for over 3. Dyett hunger strike, black folks calling on a quality public school in the neighborhood that I live in, in Chicago. And so—and thinking about how we, as young people, believe in organizing and not representing all black people, we called on a public meeting. We don’t want to have closed- door, private meeting with the mayor to talk about an issue that doesn’t just impact the 3. It impacts thousands, hundreds of thousands, of black people, not just in Chicago, but across the country. AMYGOODMAN: And how did the mayor respond to you saying no, and what was the reason you gave? CHARLENECARRUTHERS: So, we don’t have an official response from the Mayor’s Office regarding our decision not to take a meeting with him and to discuss the execution of Laquan Mc. Donald. But for us, we know that the mayor has called meetings before. And we’ve had meetings with the mayor before. We’ve not always said, . Emanuel, to talk about policing in this city. But, unfortunately, the community, or the target, that is being told to remain peaceful is not the Chicago Police Department. I just learned that—I just learned there are reports that the Chicago Police Department, they’re suiting up, through November 2. And our concern is actually what Laquan Mc. Donald’s family will feel once this video is released, and then what the young black people who walk down the street in Chicago every single day, who drive in their cars every single day, worried about whether or not they’ll be the next Rekia Boyd, the next Ronnieman, the next Laquan Mc. Donald—the list goes on and on and on of young black people who have been gunned down by the Chicago Police Department. AMYGOODMAN: So what are you calling for right now, Charlene Carruthers? CHARLENECARRUTHERS: Oh, we’re calling for what we’ve always called for. We’re calling for a massive divestment from and defunding of the police and investment in black communities. As I mentioned earlier, the Chicago Police Department comprises 4. That absolutely has to change. We’re calling on what—most recently, we’ve called on the firing of Officer Dante Servin. And just last night we learned that Superintendent Garry Mc. Carthy is recommending that he is fired. And so, we want that to continue. We want full decriminalization of black people in the city, be it for minor marijuana offenses or any other behaviors, when other people engage in them, they’re not criminalized for. I mean, I want all kinds of things, but our demands have not changed that focus squarely on defunding the police and investing in things like public schools. And that’s something that the mayor could do, and we are committed to organizing to make that happen. AMYGOODMAN: Reverend Ira Acree, a pastor at the Greater St. John Bible Church, told reporters after meeting with the mayor, quote, . Protests are imminent. We’re hoping that these protests and demonstrations will be peaceful. We know they are coming. If there would be no protest, that would mean that we have become immune to this madness. How unusual is it for a police officer to be indicted for first- degree murder? CHARLENECARRUTHERS: So—JAMIEKALVEN: Did she ask? CHARLENECARRUTHERS: Mm- hmm. JAMIEKALVEN: What was the question? AMYGOODMAN: Jamie, how—Jamie Kalven? Can you hear me? CHARLENECARRUTHERS: So, how—AMYGOODMAN: —unusual is it for a police officer to be indicted? CHARLENECARRUTHERS: How unusual is it for a police officer to be indicted? JAMIEKALVEN: So, this will be—assuming the indictment comes down today, this will be the first time in Chicago history that a police officer has been criminally charged for an on- duty shooting. So we’re in this curious space where this is an unprecedented and in some ways monumental event, and at the same time sort of the capstone of—I’m not sure . So, Charlene, you can say it even as I’m speaking; we’ll pull down your mic. Can you talk about what the Invisible Institute has found when it comes to police being held responsible for police brutality? CHARLENECARRUTHERS: Right. So, I think that really is a critical part of the story. You know, when we talk about police accountability, it has two dimensions. One are the particular abuses. And, you know, even if you imagine the best- trained police force in a city the size and complexity of Chicago, with a police force of roughly 1. The critical question is: How does the institution of the police department, and the larger institutions of the city, respond when they do? You know, if you have an effective disciplinary system, vigorous investigation, that incentivizes good behavior. It reduces the number of abusive incidents. It builds public confidence. It builds a degree of trust between communities and the police. That’s not what we have in Chicago.
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