Several hundred protesters
against police killings of black men marched on Thursday along Chicago's
Michigan Avenue, calling for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to step down and aiming to
disrupt Christmas Eve shopping in a glittering, upscale commercial area.
The demonstration was peaceful,
but after the main march concluded, police scuffled with a few dozen protesters
who were trying to block the entrance to an H&M store and to obstruct
traffic both ways on Michigan Avenue, a major thoroughfare.
During the march, demonstrators
chanted "Sixteen shots and a cover-up," protesting the year-long
delay in bringing murder charges against police officer Jason Van Dyke, who
shot and killed Laquan McDonald in October 2014 as the black teenager walked
away from police, according to footage of the incident.
Shoppers and tourists mostly
took in their stride Thursday's protest, which was not as big as a 2,000-person
march on "Black Friday" Nov. 27, which blocked traffic into several
Michigan Avenue stores.
"I think it's a good
reminder, especially on Christmas Eve, that it's not all about gifts and the
commercialization of Christmas," said Barbara Hutchinson, 64, from St.
Louis.
Reuters
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