Story highlights "If the question is do I want or need Rahm Emanuel's support for president, with all due respect to the mayor, no, I don't," Sanders said

Sanders endorsed Emanuel's opponent, Jesus Chuy Garcia, for mayor earlier this year

Washington (CNN) Bernie Sanders said Wednesday that he does not care about winning Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's endorsement.

"If the question is do I want or need Rahm Emanuel's support for president, with all due respect to the mayor, no, I don't," the Democratic presidential candidate said at a press conference in Chicago.

The Vermont senator has, in fits and starts, talked up the issue of police brutality in his White House bid. Like Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Martin O'Malley, Sanders has faced pressure from the Black Lives Matter movement and others to make it a focal point of his campaign.

Sanders has repeatedly called for the resignation of all Chicago leaders who were involved with keeping hidden a tape of 16-year-old Laquan McDonald being fatally shot by a police officer.

"Like any other public official, when a police officer breaks the law, that officer must be held accountable," said Sanders, who earlier this year endorsed Emanuel's mayoral opponent, Jesus Chuy Garcia.

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