In Chicago, civil rights lawyers have called for Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s replacement in the case of Laquan McDonald’s fatal shooting by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke. Of course, Alvarez doesn’t think she should be replaced, despite taking a year to charge Van Dyke.
On Tuesday, attorneys filed a petition in Cook County requesting a special prosecutor to not only handle Van Dyke’s case but also decipher whether (how, really) the CPD covered up McDonald’s death, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Regarding Alvarez, the petition calls for her to step down “because she is so aligned with the Fraternal Order of Police” that she’s “part of the code of silence among police officers and can’t handle the case fairly.”
Van Dyke shot 17-year-old McDonald in October 2014 but was not charged in his death until December 2015, when a judge ruled that dash cam footage of the slaying be released.
In addition to pressure to step away from this case, it’s election season in Chicago and Alvarez recently said during a debate that she wouldn’t change a thing about her actions and hasn’t done anything wrong. Kim Foxx, who is running against Alvarez for the State’s Attorney seat, is supported by many of the folks aiming to push Alvarez out. The next hearing on the petition will be held at the end of the month.
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Image via AP.