Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel has cut short his family vacation in Cuba to return to Chicago, following two more shooting deaths by Chicago police this past weekend, as the Windy City braces for more protests.
Leftist and radical black activists are already calling for Emanuel’s resignation over accusations that he helped cover up the circumstances behind the police shooting death of 17 year-old Laquan McDonald. So the weekend deaths of Bettie Jones, 55, and Quintonio LeGrier, 19, in an incident early Saturday, forced the embattled Democrat Mayor to return from his vacation in Cuba.
Police were called Saturday by the father of Quintonio LeGrier, who was being threatened by his son. The son was armed with a metal baseball bat.
When Chicago police arrived, Quintonio LeGrier reportedly came charging down the stairs towards police carrying the bat. Police opened fire, killing both LeGrier and downstairs neighbor Bettie Jones, who had opened the door to let police in.
Police said Jones, a mother of five, was “accidentally struck and tragically killed.”
Despite the fact that it was Quintonio LeGrier’s father who was being threatened and had called the police, LeGrier’s family is now joining in the chorus of angry voices speaking out against the police.
Janet Cooksey, LeGrier’s mother, told reporters ”I used to watch the news daily and I would grieve for other mothers, other family members, and now today I’m grieving myself. When do[es] it come to an end?“
His family also said that Quintonio LeGrier had a history of mental problems.
On Sunday night, Mayor Emanuel immediately threw suspicion on the police who entered a situation where a suspect came charging at them.
“There are serious questions about yesterday’s shootings that must be answered in full by the Independent Police Review Authority’s investigation,” Emanuel said in a statement, also saying that “it is clear changes are needed to how officers respond to mental health crises.”
Emanuel, a former Congressman who was also President Obama’s Chief of Staff and a senior advisor to Pressident Bill Clinton, is expected back in Chicago on Tuesday afternoon.
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