CHICAGO — Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy was abruptly fired Tuesday, and while Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he hopes a new top cop will help restore trust in the police department, the public (and political) reaction to McCarthy's firing was skeptical.
Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board president, said she's glad Emanuel fired McCarthy. She said she hopes McCarthy's firing is the catalyst that causes change at the police department.
"That's just the beginning," she said. "Clearly there are structural issues in the police department."
The police department needs to find a better way to hold officers accountable to ensure the public's confidence in police doesn't further erode, Preckwinkle said.
"I think it's up to the mayor to address the challenges he faces," she said.
Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th), president of the City Council's black caucus, said ousting McCarthy was the right thing to do. His caucus had called for McCarthy’s firing for months.
Sawyer said McCarthy's standing in the community had eroded long before the video footage was released. He cited recent community meetings McCarthy had on the South and West sides, where Sawyer said only a select few were invited and unfavorable opinions were trampled.
"It's not the end," he said. "We had seven or eight other officers there when young Laquan was shot. All these individuals have something to bear witnesses to."
Another alderman, Leslie Hairston (5th), said McCarthy's push to fire Officer Dante Servin and the arrest of Officer Jason Van Dyke were "too little, too late." Hairston also criticized Emanuel and his creation of a task force to review how officers are trained, overseen and held accountable.
“I don’t believe this administration is serious about changing this culture because the moves they have made do not reflect that,” Hairston said in a statement. “You can’t appoint a new panel with the same old people. You can’t just recycle people and expect a different outcome.”
Bishop Larry D. Trotter of Sweet Holy Spirit Church of Chicago, who had been calling for McCarthy's firing, said he was "happy that Superintendent McCarthy tendered his resignation today," but said State's Attorney Anita Alvarez should also resign.
"I'm still of the opinion that a Special Prosecutor should be appointed in the McDonald case along with Anita Alvarez's resignation," Trotter said in a statement, adding that he hopes McCarthy will be replaced by "African American, who understands the minority community."
Young alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) called McCarthy's ouster a "step in the right direction," but was critical of Emanuel's plan for a police task force.
“After 400 days of closed door conversations at Mayor Emanuel's office on Laquan McDonald’s murder, Mayor Emanuel now asks Chicagoans to wait 122 days for recommendations from his appointed task force. Chicago doesn't need more closed door meetings, we need an independent investigation, and a transparent and inclusive conversation on police accountability reform.”
“The resignation of Superintendent Garry McCarthy was a step in the right direction, but the Council must now work to hold hearings on police accountability and support an independent investigation that will give us a full account of what appears to be an official cover up of Laquan McDonald's murder."
Black Youth Project 100, which has been involved with protests calling for McCarthy's firing or resignation, said Tuesday's changes came as a result of "massive community organizing," but they want more.
"Now, Mayor Emanuel, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez and all top elected officials involved in the cover-up surrounding the execution of Laquan McDonald must make the right decision and resign immediately," Black Youth Project 100 said in a statement. "They have demonstrated a deep ineptitude to exercise compassion and good judgment as leaders and should not be trusted to make decisions that impact our lives."
Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin also praised McCarthy's resignation, but said more had to be done, calling it an "insufficient first step." The mayor's newly announced task force will not fix the relationship between residents and police, Boykin said.
"Without systemic reforms, the divide between law enforcement and communities will not be healed," Boykin said in a statement. "Simply put, the mayor's handpicked task force will not solve the problem — because the mayor himself is the problem. The mayor cannot investigate himself. That is why an independent federal investigation is required, and not just into Laquan McDonald's murder, but into the process by which that murder was covered up."
Boykin called for all dashboard camera videos of police shootings to be immediately released to the public. It was last week's release of a dashcam video of the shooting of Laquan McDonald that led to protests and rewned calls for McCarthy to be fired or step down.
The Fraternal Order of Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, here's what some are saying on Twitter:
@PeterNickeas Someone had to go - and it wasn't going to be Rahm.
— Judy Raddue (@SilvestriWoman) December 1, 2015
Garry McCarthy to receive valuable parting gifts, including Burger King gift cards and Chi-Raq movie swag.
— Matt Farmer (@mifarmer) December 1, 2015
1 down, 2 to go. Why we're calling for @MayorEmanuel and @SAAnitaAlvarez to resign immediately: https://t.co/ar6Oq8E5yL #FundBlackFutures
— BYP100 (@BYP_100) December 1, 2015
Emanuel: I have absolute confidence in Jean-Claude Brizard, strike that, Barbara Byrd-Bennett, strike that, Garry McCarthy. #LaquanMcDonald
— Matt Farmer (@mifarmer) December 1, 2015
I'm glad that Garry McCarthy got removed as the head of CPD but Rahm Emanuel and Anita Alvarez need to go too!
— NinoPunchlines (@NinoPunchlines) December 1, 2015
They really think firing CPD Supt. Garry McCarthy gon help?
— Consistency (@IcantSTANyou) December 1, 2015
Ask the mayor to resign too
— Consistency (@IcantSTANyou) December 1, 2015
Garry McCarthy just replaced Packers Coach Mike McCarthy as the most hated McCarthy in Chicago.
— Kimberly Eberl (@KimberlyEberl) December 1, 2015
