While many Chicagoan’s continue to protest the death of 17-year old Laquan McDonald at the hands of a Chicago police officer, one question comes to mind is why did this story take this long to come out? Certainly, the media has no qualms about reporting the black versus white [cop] narrative so how come this story didn’t take precedent like the Mike Brown’s, Eric Garner’s, and Tamir Rice’s, of the world? If it wasn’t for a lawsuit filed in August by a freelance journalist named Brandon Smith; Officer Jason Van Dyke, would still be patrolling the streets of Chicago—and worst, he would have gotten away with first degree murder. Under the Freedom of Information Act, a judge ruled in Smith’s favor and the video was released by the city this past Tuesday to an awaiting public, which sparked immediate outrage and civil unrest. In the video, Officer Van Dyke and along with another officer, approach McDonald holding an unidentified weapon, and Van Dyke fired on McDonald execution-style within seconds from leaving his police vehicle. Van Dyke would continue to unload his magazine only stopping once the final bullet emptied his 16-round handgun. McDonald was shot 16 times in 14 seconds.

Per reports from Fraternal Order of Police via Huffington Post, a spokesman told the Chicago Tribune that the suspect had lunged at the officers with a knife, prompting one of them [Van Dyke] to open fire  (feel free to side-eye right here). He continued in saying that the officers had asked McDonald to drop the knife and were waiting for other officers to arrive with stun guns on the scene. He mentioned McDonald had a crazed look on his face (due to PCP usage) and because he had slashed some tires on a couple of vehicles; it was a clear-cut case of “self-defense.” Right now I can even hear Chad Johnson’s voice in my mind saying, “Child please.” I originally contemplated whether or not I would blog about another young black male gunned down by who rapper KRS-1 would call an “Overseer;” it’s simply hard to ignore the dash cam video of Overseer Van Dyke striking McDonald at literally point-blank range. It is also arduous to ignore 16 bullets. With a career spanning 14 years, Van Dyke, 37, is no stranger to complaints and lawsuits. In fact, according to cnn.com, the database shows that of the 20 complaints against Van Dyke none resulted in discipline. Five complaints in the database were “not sustained,” five were unfounded, four resulted in exoneration, five had unknown outcomes and one resulted in no action taken.  In this past April, the Chicago Tribune revealed Van Dyke’s name and his history of civilian complaints—including several brutality complaints, one of which cost the city $500,000 in a civil lawsuit—none of which resulted in any disciplinary action per Chicago Reporter.

As Chicagoan’s get ready to patronize Michigan Avenue searching intently for the latest Black Friday deals, they might be met by a crowd of impassioned demonstrators; mostly those of the Black Lives Matter ilk. Update: According to the Daily Caller, braving cold temperatures, a light drizzle and a mighty wind that was miserable even by Second City standards, about 2,000 protesters took to Chicago’s glitzy Magnificent Mile shopping district on Friday afternoon to protest the 2014 shooting death of 17-year-old black teenager Laquan McDonald by a white police officer and the city’s slow response to the incident. Now let me be every clear just in case you’ve have never read any of my blogs before. I make no apologies about my utter disdain for the Black Live Matter-Barnum & Bailey Circus; but it’s not because I don’t care about black people. That would be farcical! My problem with the movement is that besides being disingenuous about their actual ‘agenda;’ they are funded by who Human Events calls, “the single most destructive leftist demagogue in the country,” billionaire George Soros. And as the saying goes, “whoever funds your movement, runs your movement.” Alright, sorry for going off on a tangent there; anyways, there was also something else that struck a chord with me about this case. I mean, if it had not been for freelance writer and his attorney, again, this case wouldn’t even made it to the light of day. So where was Laquan’s parent or parents? Where was his family and why weren’t they there with Mr. Smith and his attorney in arrant support? Let’s just say his family had five million reasons not to be.

In most of these cases involving a young black male being murdered by law enforcement, the victim’s background is usually a tumultuous one; and Laquan is no exception. According to court documents obtained by the Chicago Tribune; “McDonald’s father abandoned the family and had no presence in his life. At 3, McDonald became a ward of the state when the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services took him into protective custody over allegations that his mother had neglected him, according to state records.  He spent about two months in foster care before he was moved to a relative’s home and eventually back to his mother in 2002. But after just a little more than a year, he was again back in foster care when his mother’s boyfriend beat him, causing cuts, welts and bruises, according to the records. McDonald was placed with his great-grandmother in 2003, and she eventually became his legal guardian. He lived with her for about a decade before she died in 2013 and he was placed with an uncle. Court files show he racked up numerous juvenile arrests and had spent time in juvenile lockup (…)”

Things starting to fall into place for McDonald when he moved in with his uncle and enrolled in Sullivan House Alternative School in May 2014. Laquan was forming good relationships with the staff and would even arrive to school early. In a story done by Dorothy Tucker of CBS 2 (Chicago) entitled, Who Was Laquan McDonald,  Tucker spoke candidly with educators, family and friends about who was the real Laquan McDonald. “Happy…and just wanted to be around to be around somebody and feel loved,” said Yolanda Hoskins, whose son and Laquan were best friends. “He wasn’t a threat to no one,” Hoskins said. “He didn’t deserve to be executed like that.” Hoskins also spoke affectionately about how McDonald liked basketball, tacos, and gym shoes, but she also confirmed he had a troubled past which includes him being molested. As for the rest of McDonald’s family—mainly his mother and sister—the City Council had approved a $5 million dollar settlement when the family’s attorneys had obtained the same video America saw this week in horror. Per Chicago Reporter: The video showed McDonald walking away from the police at the time of the shooting, contradicting the police story he was threatening or had “lunged at” cops. The settlement included a provision keeping the video confidential, per Chicago Reporter.

A posthumous rapper once said; “You’re nobody until somebody kills you,” couldn’t this be more factual about the black community? Think about it. This story is only getting the press it deserves because Laquan was murdered by a white cop and we have yet to hear from the grief stricken mother or in-law about his death. I know people want to blame the mayor, the police department, and you’re entitled to do so. However, this child was failed by a father and a mother who didn’t want him in the first place. This child was a ward of the state; so how dare a parent, who’s had a career of negligence, is allowed to reap the corruption of a crooked government and  fraternal order? But I guess this is allowed to happen because after all; this is Chicago: home of the hustler, the criminal and political demagoguery. So sad that Laquan wasn’t nobody until a white cop killed him, and his so-called family was allowed to receive a check for his death.