“We must continue to work to create change”: 10 years after police shot and killed Laquan McDonald

Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke shot and killed 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 10 years ago this Sunday. Dashcam videos of the shooting released years later ultimately revealed an attempted cover-up and led to a federal mandate for police reform.

Van Dyke, who was convicted of second-degree murder in 2018, fired 16 shots at McDonald’s when the teenager walked away from him with a small knife in his hand.

A federal investigation into the Chicago Police Department found a pattern of racist, abusive and unconstitutional policing.

Michael Harrington, a community leader in Rogers Park, was among the first to sue the city to force police reform following the Justice Department investigation.

Harrington spoke with WBEZ about how policing has changed.

WBEZ: What do you remember about when the infamous dashcam video was released?

Harrington: I remember how graphic and tragic and shocking and immediate it was. …This incident is a cornerstone in launching what has become a comprehensive process of police accountability and oversight in the City of Chicago. The shooting of Laquan McDonald told us and anyone who wasn’t paying attention everything we needed to know.

WBEZ: You just left a meeting with other police reform leaders. What are people saying about this anniversary and where have we come in the last decade?

Harrington: What we say and feel is that the shooting was an example of what has been happening in Chicago for decades – and the anniversary reminds us that we must continue to work to create change.

WBEZ: You are a community leader in Rogers Park. You are also a black man and a father. What was your experience with the Chicago Police Department?

Harrington: You know, I’m proud to say that I had really great experiences with Chicago police officers who were incredibly professional in the way they did their jobs and interacted with me personally. … I have also had terrible experiences with officers who committed misconduct, were abusive and rude to me personally. …But this happens to black men, and [to] Black men in Chicago. It happens to everyone.

People of all races have experienced the good and the bad of police officers. I believe our job is to help them, challenge them, work with them and push them to be more professional, because we need improvements in public safety and they have a role to play in that.

WBEZ: Ultimately, your lawsuit was combined with a lawsuit from the Illinois Attorney General, which resulted in the state-enforced police reform plan known as the Consent Decree. How do you think the consent decree process went?

Harrington: Well, it’s like any institution. The consent decree is now full of lawyers and opinion makers and all sorts of questions and contractual stuff. The consent decree outlines over 600 key goals and objectives to improve and professionalize policing in Chicago. The process is slow due to the nature of human collaboration. …

One of the important things we still argue about is the use of force and pointing of weapons by police officers. You know the story in America: the gun is the beginning and the end of the law, and they feel like they have guns and can use them. This has to do with the question of recruitment. To me, people want to go to the police because they can carry a gun. But this also affects the entire question of supervision and discipline. Officers in Chicago and police officers across the country have the opportunity to behave, [to] Engaging in behavior that would get the average citizen arrested.

WBEZ: Do you feel like policing in Chicago has changed in the last 10 years?

Harrington: I think there were some good changes. I’m slowly meeting more and more officials who understand how important it is to respect citizens when they approach them and discuss this with them. But then we also see incredible outbreaks, like Dexter Reed earlier this year Shoot – 96 bullets were fired at this guy on the west side of Chicago in a dangerous neighborhood. Who knows what was going on in his head? Did he think he was being targeted and attacked by a gang when the unmarked cars pulled up and the gang officers jumped out? He fired a bullet. For this he received 96 bullets.

We have incidents like this, many incidents of unreported aggression by officers against citizens when there is no need for it. De-escalation should be your goal. De-escalating means calming down, relaxing, speaking out, waiting, withdrawing. Supposedly there is good training on this, but we don’t think so.

We went to the police academy, attended training sessions, and observed the classroom: a trainer in front of a classroom of 50 to 60 men and women, some of them talking on their cell phones, others falling asleep. They are assigned to training after a shift when they are already tired. It’s not a high priority.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Click play to listen to the full interview.