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Read the press release here.

Hillary Clinton Says Laquan McDonald's Family 'Deserves Justice'

By Tanveer Ali | November 25, 2015 2:34pm
 Democratic presidential hopeful and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with parents and child care workers at the Center for New Horizons on May 20, 2015 in Chicago.
Democratic presidential hopeful and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with parents and child care workers at the Center for New Horizons on May 20, 2015 in Chicago.
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Getty Images/Scott Olson

CHICAGO — Hillary Clinton said Chicagoans "deserve justice and accountability" following the release of a disturbing video showing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald being shot 16 times by a Chicago police officer. 

Clinton released the following statement on Twitter Wednesday: 

"The family of Laquan McDonald and the people of Chicago deserve justice and accountability. As criminal charges proceed in this case, we also have to grapple as a country with broader questions about ensuring that all our citizens and communities are protected and respected. The mothers I met recently in Chicago are right: we cannot go on like this. All over America, there are police officers honorably doing their duty, demonstrating how to protect the public without resorting to unnecessary force. We need to learn from and build on those examples. The loss of so many young African Americans taken too soon should reaffirm our commitment to press forward for progress."

Clinton is the first presidential candidate to weigh in on the McDonald incident, which has sparked calls for the firing of police Supt. Garry McCarthy and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez. Politicians and activists blamed McCarthy and Alvarez for failing to act sooner and claim they attempted to hide the incident from the public. 

The city did fight to keep the video private until a judge ordered them to release it by Nov. 25

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