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South Side Residents Rip Aldermen For Helping Keep Laquan Video Under Wraps

By Jamie Nesbitt Golden | December 9, 2015 12:38pm
 Residents and Aldermen come together to discuss police accountability.
Joint Aldermen Town Hall Meeting
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BRONZEVILLE — A Town Hall meeting on police accountability Tuesday night erupted in shouting matches as residents blasted aldermen for helping keep the Laquan McDonald video under wraps for more than a year and accused them of approving "blood money" when they approved a city settlement with McDonald's family.

The meeting was held at Liberty Baptist Church, 4849 South King Drive, and was billed as a joint Town Hall on police accountability hosted by Alds. Pat Dowell (3rd), Leslie Hairston (5th), Roderick Sawyer (6th), and David Moore (17th) and moderated by WVON-AM's Matt McGill. Aldermen Toni Foulkes (16th) and Will Burns (4th) were also in attendance.

Percy Coleman, whose son Philip was tasered and dragged while in police custody and later died in 2012, actually appealed for calm during the meeting.

"I don't come here as a Republican, but as a member of the black community," said Coleman, the co-chair of the Chicago Republican Party who formerly worked in law enforcement in the suburbs. "The only way to get this done is if we work together."

But Coleman's pleas for calm were largely ignored as shouting matches erupted several times throughout the two-hour meeting. Many called for the aldermen to push for a vote of no-confidence against Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th) offered a chronological timeline of the Laquan McDonald case, explaining how the city's financial committee settled with McDonald's family for $5 million before criminal charges were filed out of taxpayer interest.

One audience member accused Sawyer of paying the McDonald family in "blood money." Another took the aldermen to task for their complicity in keeping the case under wraps for 13 months, suggesting that the family should've gone forward with the lawsuit and attempted to receive a larger payout in order to deter police violence. 

"The truth is, the CPD has been killing black men for a long, long time," said Sawyer. "It has to stop."

All of the aldermen in attendance were in favor of disbanding the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) and supported the forthcoming Department of Justice investigation, but when attendees pressed the aldermen to stage a walkout at Wednesday's City Council meeting, they refused. 

"I'm not clear on why we would walk out," said Sawyer to one audience member.

Powell said she's working to change CPD's applicant screening process to increase police force diversity, and vowed to take a closer look at the Fraternal Order of Police's contract when it's up for review next year, after a local activist pointed out the need for citizen representation in cases of alleged police misconduct. "The FOP should not be the first on the scene in situations like this," said Dowell. 

Hairston told the crowd that she's pushing for a rule that would force Chicago police to release videos within 48 hours. 

"The whole world is watching Chicago," said Dowell. "It's important that we do this right."

Coleman spoke briefly about his son's case, mentioning that the city offered his family a payout. Family members declined. He and other family members were scheduled to attend a City Council meeting Wednesday where Emanuel apologized for the situation.

"I want the truth to come out," he said. "I know how they [CPD] work. I was one of them."

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