CHICAGO—Mayor Rahm Emanuel fired the city’s police superintendent Tuesday, Dec. 1, a week after the release of a dash-cam video that showed a white Chicago officer fatally shooting a black teenager 16 times.
Emanuel called a news conference to announce the dismissal of Garry McCarthy, who only days ago insisted to reporters that the mayor had his “back.”
The mayor praised McCarthy’s leadership of the force but called it an “undeniable fact” that the public’s trust in the police had eroded.
“Now is the time for fresh eyes and new leadership,” Emanuel said.
Protesters have been calling for McCarthy’s dismissal in response to the handling of the death of Laquan McDonald, a 17-year-old who was killed in October 2014.
Some aldermen, particularly members of the City Council’s black caucus, have also been seeking McCarthy’s resignation, citing the city’s crime rate and questions about the department transparency.
The city released video of the shooting only after a judge ordered it to be made public. The release set off several days of largely peaceful protests. Officer Jason Van Dyke has been charged with first-degree murder.
“Any case of excessive force or abuse of authority undermines the entire force and the trust we must build with every community in the city,” the mayor said. Police officers are only effective “if they are trusted by all Chicagoans, whoever they are and wherever they live in the city.”
