Chicago shooting protest clogs Black Friday retail

One of Chicago’s most prominent retail centers — on one of the busiest shopping days of the year — has been shut down by demonstrators protesting the shooting death of black teenager Laquan McDonald by a white policeman.

{mosads}An estimated 2,000 protesters, carrying signs such as “Stop Police Terror,” gathered to march on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile on Black Friday, shutting down Michigan Avenue.

Video shows demonstrators locked arm in arm outside of business entrances to prevent shoppers from taking advantage of post-Thanksgiving sales.

The rally, led by activist Rev. Jesse Jackson and several elected state officials, is in response to the death of McDonald, 17, who was shot and killed by officer Jason Van Dyke, 37, in October 2014.

The protests come one week after the city was forced by a court order to release video of the incident, showing Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times. Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder shortly before the dash-camera footage was made public.

Protesters are demanding the resignation of the police superintendent and a top city prosecutor for how they have handled the case.

“It’s unconscionable that the police officer who killed Laquan McDonald was able to sit at a desk for over a year and draw a paycheck,” protester James Hinton, 49, who was holding a sign that read, “13 months, 16 shots,” told Reuters.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other officials said they delayed making the tape public in order to avoid tainting the investigation into Van Dyke.