Think Progress

Chicago Officials Offer Weak Reform As Protests Rage Over Police Shooting Of Laquan McDonald

After five straight days of protests over the police shooting of of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) and Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy offered their new plan to hold police officers accountable: more body cameras.

The move may not appease the thousands of Chicagoans who have joined the protests. Though dashboard camera footage existed showing Officer Jason Van Dyke unloading his pistol at McDonald’s, officials withheld it from the public for over a year and lied about its contents until they were forced to release the video by court order last week. Emanuel and McCarthy have been accused of participating in a cover-up of the shooting.

WATCH: What Police Said About The Killing Of Laquan McDonald Before The Video Showed What Really Happened

“He’s got a 100-yard stare. He’s staring blankly,” [Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Pat] Camden said of the teen. “[He] walked up to a car and stabbed the tire of the car and kept walking.”Officers remained in their car and followed McDonald as he walked south on Pulaski Road. More officers arrived and police tried to box the teen in with two squad cars, Camden said. McDonald punctured one of the squad car’s front passenger-side tires and damaged the front windshield, police and Camden said.Officers got out of their car and began approaching McDonald, again telling him to drop the knife, Camden said. The boy allegedly lunged at police, and one of the officers opened fire.McDonald was shot in the chest and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:42 p.m.

Watch: the truth comes out.