CNN Analyst Compares Laquan McDonald Shooting to Fallujah
A CNN law enforcement analyst compared the shooting death of a black teenager in Chicago by a white police officer to armed combat in the Iraqi city of Fallujah.
Carol Costello brought on freelance journalist Brandon Smith, who sued for the release of dashcam video showing Jason Van Dyke fire 16 rounds into Laquan McDonald‘s body, and law enforcement analyst Jonathan Gilliam to discuss the video’s wider implications. The conversation was mostly cordial. At least until Gilliam made a rather interesting comparison while making a point about Van Dyke’s 16 bullets.
“Just because you shoot a person doesn’t mean they’re going to fall,” Gilliam told the panel. “I talked to somebody last night who was in Fallujah — I know this isn’t Chicago, but was in Fallujah — who shot an insurgent 13 times as he charged him and the guy didn’t fall until he got right in front of him.”
“But Jonathan, this young man was on the ground. There were multiple shots fired in quick succession,” Costello interjected.
“The point is, even though he’s on the ground, he never dropped the knife and he continued to move,” said Gilliam. “The reason we have these policies is because officers have been killed after they shot somebody.”
Van Dyke was charged with first degree murder on Tuesday. The dashcam footage was released to the press and the public soon after, which caused protesters to gather at several major intersections in downtown Chicago.
Check out the clip above, via CNN.
[Image via screengrab]
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