Protesters Shut Down Some Mag Mile Stores; At Least Four Arrested
(CBS) – Some high-end Michigan Avenue stores closed down Friday as throngs of protesters marched along the retail district for several hours in response to a Chicago police officer killing a black teen last year.
Four people were arrested, Chicago police said.
The protest began – the same as others this week – with a mass of demonstrators at the Michigan Avenue Bridge. Up and back they marched for three hours in the cold and rain. Then they switched tactics, breaking into smaller groups that blocked individual storefronts. The Apple store on North Michigan Avenue was closed for several hours, and others posted signs that they were not open.
The doors to Water Tower Place were locked for a few hours, with police stationed inside, CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez reports.
Marilyn Pitchford was one of 10 protesters who blocked entry to the Coach store.
"Hit them where it hurts," she tells WBBM's Bob Roberts.
The demonstration, meant to disrupt "Black Friday" shopping on Chicago's Magnificent Mile, was in response to this week's court-ordered release of a Chicago police car dash-camera video. From October 2014, it shows Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting vandalism suspect Laquan McDonald a total of 16 times.
McDonald, 17, reportedly was holding a knife. Prosecutors this week charged Van Dyke with first-degree murder, saying the fatal shooting was not justified.
Demonstrators March On The Mile
Some of Chicago's most high-profile community leaders took part in the initial Magnificent Mile march. That doesn't mean everyone was on the same page. Some younger members of the march shouted down the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. as he tried to make a public statement, indicating that some participants had a different agenda.
The trade organization representing stores along the retail corridor said sales were off on what traditionally is one of the biggest shopping days of the year.
Police officers -- who endured abuse from some protesters --tried to keep demonstrators off Lake Shore Drive.
