Laquan McDonald's Death: Tragic In So Many Ways Pt. 2

I'm as frustrated as anyone about the shooting death of Laquan McDonald.  It's unnerving to watch a police officer shoot a person 16 times, especially when there is no exchange of gunfire. And then there's the matter of the time it took to bring charges against Officer Van Dyke, who was allowed to remain on the job, but off the street, for over a year after the shooting. It sends a bad message that no one in authority thought is was worth it to keep the public informed about the process in this highly controversial case. Which is pretty ironic since everyone talks about transparency, but this case appears to be anything but.  Ufortunately when something like this happens, it only serves to whittle away the public's trust just a little more.

But the fact of the matter is, Officer Van Dyke has been charged and was taken into custody.  Cook County Criminal Court Associate Judge Donald Panarese, Jr. set bail at $1.5 million dollars. On Monday, Van Dyke posted bail--$150,000.00, ten percent of the amount set by the judge--and was released. Some believe there has been a miscarriage of justice because Officer Van Dyke was granted bail, made bail and has been released.  Like it or not, Van Dyke is legally presumed to be innocent and is entitled to due process. It's the judge's decision if bail will be set and for how much. There are cases when bail is not allowed, but if the judge, after considering several factors, including they type of crime and the defendant's background, decides to grant bail, there is no miscarriage of justice

In part one of this post, I said there were other aspects of this case that were also tragic, and here's a brief rundown of those things:



Lack of concern for most murder victims. In 2014, the year that Laquan McDonald was killed, there were at least 315 other black males that were shot to death on the streets of Chicago (this link provides specific details of each victim and the crime, with a link to the related story).   If you add in stabbings, and black women that were killed, then the number jumps. It's frustrating to watch so-called leaders on television railing about the injustice of Laquan McDonald's death.  As tragic as it was, what about the 300-plus other murders? They too were tragic. What about the countless mothers that stand before the cameras begging for someone, anyone to come forward to help find their loved one's killer or to help them get answers from authorities? Who stands with them? It's always tearful family members. No influential "leaders", no well-funded protest organizers, just helpless, powerless people. Unfortunately, most of the other cases lack the key element needed to draw any interest by the so-called leaders and community activists...and you know what that is.  I will say that there are a few exceptions. Anti-violence activist Andrew Holmes is one of those exceptions. For years, he's been quietly stomping the pavement looking for killers, comforting families, attending funerals and encouraging communities to help police track down the killers. I wasn't aware that he was even affiliated with an organization because when he talks, it's always about the issue at hand, not a personal or broader agenda. Sadly, he lost his daughter to gunfire in August.

Persistant political maneuvering to manipulate Chicago's black citizens.  Laquan McDonald was killed in October of 2014, just four months before Chicago's mayoral primary race. By the time the primary race rolled around, the City of Chicago had already negotiated a $5 million dollar settlement with McDonald's family. Granted, the City Council didn't "approve" the settlement until Wednesday, April 15, 2015, a little over a week after the hotly contested April 7th run-off election.  But you'd have to be really naive not to realize that the settlement was a done deal long before then. What's interesting is that McDonald's family hadn't even filed a lawsuit, nor had charges been brought against Officer Van Dyke. Since when has Chicago settled a lawsuit so expeditiously?  When the sitting mayor is days away from a tough run-off election, that's when.  I could list at least a dozen other instances of shameless political gamesmanship at the expense of black Chicagoans, but this post is about the Laquan McDonald case.

The impotence of elected officals, ministers/self-appointed leaders and the local media.  As I watched the black caucus of Chicago's City Council demand the resignation of Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, I could only shake my head. Not because McCarthy doesn't need to go--he probably does, but these people have had plenty of opportunites to force Rahm Emanuel's hand. If they wanted him out, they could have used their leverage and withheld the settlement for the McDonald family.  I'm sure, if the mayor had to choose between winning re-election and keeping McCarthy, it wouldn't have been a difficult decision.  Besides, they know full-well that if McCarthy is replaced, the next superintendent will do as the mayor wishes.

The group that I have the least respect for is the cadre of ministers who stand in their pulpits on Sunday and talk to their flock about the power of God, but on Monday get their marching orders from their political gods.  Now you may be thinking that I'm going a bit too far here, that I'm only speculating, but I'm not.  I served in the administration of three chicago mayors. I've seen it happen. But it was in Daley's adminstration that this practice was just blatant.  I shared an office with a wonderful man, who was the "Liason to Black Churches".  This wasn't a job title that you could find in the budget, but it was his title--his card even said so.  His job consisted of staying in close contact with black ministers (remember Chicago is a democrat city), seeing what they needed from the city (a few jobs, contracts, free food for their daycare programs, proclamations from the mayor, street signs re-named for them and a host of other thing$). In exchange for Daley's (the taxpayer's) largess, the ministers would promise to stand with 'da mayor whenever he needed them.  I would read virtually every request from the ministers, because unbelievably, a well-kept secret was that my officemate was illiterate (he got the job because he'd worked with Daley for years prior to his becoming mayor).  I know full well this is still a common practice.  This is partly why we hadn't heard a peep from anyone over the past year demanding that charges be brought against Van Dyke or that McCarthy be fired (UPDATE: McCarthy has just been fired).  These kinds of shenanigans work great for the politicians and the ministers/community activitists, but the troubled communities of the south and westside are, well, left with their troubles. By the way, I was only talking about the bush league ministers/activists, the wannabe big shots. When it comes to the more prominment of their ilk, that's an even seedier game. It's a game of deception for greater power and influence.  One other thing, and this is probably the most important.  I have yet to hear a single minister talk about the core issue of all of this madness.  They're talking about  how jobs, equality in wealth, and changes in policy and personnel will change things.  But it won't. Surely they know that at it's core, these problems, especially the rampant violence, are rooted in sin and rebellion (which is sin), and that the only way to really change things is through the power of Christ. These battles are spiritual in nature, so hearts must first be changed.  These battles will not be won through politics, money or the media.

The local media have dirty hands too. The local media could have better served the public by doing solid investigative reporting on the case of Laquan McDonald over the past 12 or 13 months to keep the public informed on the status of the case, and to keep the politicians accountable. You'd think they just learned about all the details too.  Where was the follow-up on key issues like when would charges be filed? Why the mayor/the city settled this case so soon?  Why didn't an established media outlet file suit to have the video from the dashcam released? Instead, it was freelance journalist Brandon Smith who went to court to get the dashcam video released.  Ironically (not so much), Smith was banned from news conference with Mayor Emanuel and (former) Police Supt. Garry McCarthy.  The local media have put an enormous amount of resources into the "aftermath"--the sensational aspect of the case, i.e., the protests.  It's been darn near wall-to-wall coverage of young people marching, ministers encouraging more marching, and an assortment of community reps demanding one thing or another.  It's only now that the local media are asking the tough questions, which they should have been asking all along. As far as I'm concerned, they too have given the politicians a pass and helped to suppress this story.

The Protestors.  Young people, particularly those in college, very often want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.  They want to affect change. Unfortunately, what is becoming all too common, is that legitimate protest is being co-opted by thoses with other agendas. As I mentioned earlier, Officer Van Dyke has been charged and now awaits trial. So demanding justice for Laquan is premature.  But many of the protests have morphed into a wide-range of things that have little or nothing to do with the death of Laquan Mcdonald. But it's not suprising, those with power and influence have a way of manipulating the public to get what they want. Too bad idealistic young people can't see through those rose-colored glasses.