The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

In Chicago, Ben Carson condemns ‘abominable’ Laquan McDonald shooting but stops short of calling for mayor’s resignation

By
December 10, 2015 at 12:58 p.m. EST
Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson (AP Photo/John Locher)

CHICAGO — Ben Carson on Thursday strongly condemned the delayed release of a video showing a police officer shooting a black teenager in Chicago, calling the city's investigation into the death of Laquan McDonald a “failure of government.” But the Republican presidential candidate stopped short of calling for the resignation of embattled Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

“That represents a failure of government, and everybody loses in this situation,” Carson said during a press conference here. “We simply cannot condone this kind of activity. We cannot sweep it under the rug. This is what creates a lot of the animosity that exists in our society today.”

"This act was really just as abominable but was really not brought to light for a year," the retired neurosurgeon added.

Rahm Emanuel is in deep, deep trouble

The release of the video last month — which shows Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times, continuing even after the 17-year-old lay motionless on the ground — has fed into the national conversation about police brutality in the United States and the excessive use of force faced by people of color. Hundreds of activists have taken to the streets in Chicago to protest what they say is entrenched corruption in the department.

Emanuel's credibility has been badly damaged by the shooting, with many city residents saying the mayor should resign. On Wednesday, Emanuel delivered a 40-minute address to try to assure the city that he would take steps to reform the police department.

Carson would not say whether he believed allegations that authorities sought to conceal the shooting for fear of political fallout, but he did indicate his skepticism. Chicago police officials have said the video of the shooting was not released in order to maintain the integrity of the investigation. Critics of the mayor and of the department have dismissed those assurances.

"Whether there was a cover-up or not, it was hidden for a long time from people, and that was a very inappropriate action,” Carson said. “And it's hard to come up with a rational reason to do that other than a political reason."

But Carson also insisted that the shooting should not reflect on all police officers or all police departments.

"Someone has to be responsible enough in those situations to intervene before something like this happens — not only in Chicago but across the nation there are bad apples in police departments. We know that,” Carson told reporters. “And in those cases it is dealt with appropriately. We need to get to the point where it is dealt with appropriately in all cases.”

Carson was in town Thursday for a meeting with local entrepreneurs and faith leaders.