Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy Fired; 'Time for Fresh Eyes,' Rahm Says
Getty Images/Scott Olson
CHICAGO — Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy, under fire for a video showing one of his officers shooting Laquan McDonald 16 times, has been fired.
"This morning, I formally asked for his resignation," Mayor Rahm Emanuel. "Now is the time for fresh eyes and new leadership."
McCarthy's top deputy, John Escalante, will serve as acting superintendent while the city searches for a replacement.
When asked what McCarthy did wrong, Emanuel said "he has become an issue rather than dealing with the issue, and a distraction."
Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed first reported the dismissal.
McCarthy, 56, was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in May of 2011. He had previously been chief of police in Newark and held executive positions in the New York police department.
McCarthy had spent Tuesday morning making a number of media appearances, speaking on morning news programs where he defended his actions in the shooting case of McDonald, a 17-year-old African-American who was shot by Officer Jason Van Dyke in October of 2014. That shooting was captured on a dashboard camera in a squad car and, under court order, was released to the public last week, setting off days of protest.
McCarthy told CBS Monday that his "hands were tied" in the McDonald case.
“I couldn’t fire him. I couldn’t put him in a ‘no pay’ status. I couldn’t discipline him. That’s the law,” he told the station. “It was not the Chicago Police Department investigating this incident.”
During a Tuesday news conference, Emanuel praised McCarthy's "excellent" record and credited him for the lowest overall crime rate on record in Chicago. However, he said the public trust in CPD leadership has been "shaken and eroded," which led him to formally ask for McCarthy's resignation Tuesday morning.
Van Dyke has been charged with murder, the first in the city's history for an officer acting while on duty.
The drumbeat for replacing McCarthy has been growing louder in recent days, with black aldermen calling for his ouster at a City Hall press conference Nov. 25 followed by other powerful black figures, including Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.
Protesters have also been calling on Emanuel and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez to resign.
Emanuel had stood by McCarthy, as recently as Monday when the mayor's office released a statement of support.
In a Tuesday editorial, the Sun-Times called for his resignation in a Page 1 editorial saying he had "lost the trust and support of much of Chicago, without which he cannot do his job."
Sneed has mentioned these possible replacements:
Deputy Police Chief Eric Washington
Deputy Police Chief Eugene Williams, the CPD’s Bureau of Support Services head
First Deputy Police Supt. Escalante
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