Family of Chicago teen slain by police calls for violence 'summit'
By Suzannah Gonzales and Mary Wisniewski
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The uncle of a black teenager killed by Chicago police in 2014 called on Friday for a federal summit on violence, poverty and police brutality, but stopped short of calling for the resignation of embattled Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Marvin Hunter, pastor of a west side Baptist church and Laquan McDonald's great uncle, did echo calls by protesters that Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez should step down.
Alvarez has been criticized for waiting 13 months to charge Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke with McDonald's murder, in an incident caught on video. Alvarez blamed the delay on the complexities of investigating a police shooting.
"Anita Alvarez has forfeited the moral high ground," Hunter told reporters. "She has lost the trust of the people."
Other Chicago black religious leaders on Friday called for a "no confidence vote" against Emanuel over his leadership.
The country's third-largest city has experienced more than two weeks of protests since the release of the video of the shooting in which McDonald was hit 16 times.
High-profile killings of black men by law enforcement in U.S. cities have stirred a debate about the use of force by police, particularly against racial minorities.
Religious leaders said they plan to collect signatures on a petition expressing no confidence in the mayor. They also called for a special prosecutor to investigate McDonald's October 2014 death.
Hunter described McDonald as a big, loving "jokester," not a gangster, and said police should not judge young black men by their appearance.
"Dreads doesn't mean dreadful," said Hunter, referring to McDonald's hair style.
Emanuel has taken steps to reform the police, including setting up a task force to review accountability and a nationwide search for a new police superintendent. But protests, which have included calls for the mayor's resignation, have continued and more were expected on Friday.
A poll of 589 Chicago voters by Public Policy Polling this week found that 51 percent would vote for someone besides Emanuel if the election were held now. About 28 percent said they would have changed their vote for mayor if they had seen the video before Emanuel's April re-election.
The error rate was plus or minus 4.2 percent. The poll also found a majority of voters wanting to choose someone besides Alvarez.
A MoveOn.org petition calling for Emanuel's resignation had 6,157 signatures as of early Friday afternoon. A Change.org petition calling for Emanuel's impeachment had 10,351 supporters.
(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales and Mary Wisniewski; editing by Ben Klayman, Bernadette Baum, Richard Chang and David Gregorio)
