What 3 Black Chicago Cops Say About The Laquan McDonald Shooting

By Mae Rice in News on Jan 18, 2016 7:21PM



Milosh Kosanovich

The Reader has done the nearly impossible, and gotten three black CPD officers to comment on the Laquan McDonald scandal, Black Lives Matter protests, and basically everything you wish police officers would talk about openly—including "[t]he double consciousness black police officers sometimes face," as the Reader put it.

The department expressly forbids officers from weighing in on current cases, but these officers spoke under pseudonyms.

Some of the most interesting parts of the resulting roundtable—which we recommend reading in its entirety—included this discussion of the McDonald shooting:

What was your reaction to the Laquan McDonald footage? Shelton: Literally—Oh shit! Foley: I was shocked and in disbelief. When you shoot someone 16 times, and the first two shots stop his actions and he is no longer a threat, you are trying to kill him. Tubbs: He [officer Jason Van Dyke] is fucked and he's a piece of shit. That was not a bad shoot—[Van Dyke] executed him.

And the pieces' eerie closer:

What can the police do to rebuild trust with the community? Foley: Start actually caring about the community. It will take time but it's like a girlfriend you cheated on and want to win her trust back because you actually care. It will take time, and you have to earn it by your actions and behavior. And she has to believe it. Shelton: Probably nothing, because the community will always feel some kind of way. Can't make everyone happy. When body cameras come, the community will most definitely hate the police. [Laughs]

Read the full roundtable here.