Will Ousting Chicago's Police Chief Change Its Culture of Violence?

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked for the resignation of Garry McCarthy, the head of his city’s police department, on Tuesday amid the storm of controversy concerning the police killing of a black teenager. Last October, Chicago officer Jason Van Dyke killed 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, firing 16 shots into his body, all of which was captured on police dash-cam video. That video was just made public a couple of days before Thanksgiving—the same day that Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder, more than a year after the killing.

Questions around why it took so long to charge Van Dyke, who remained on payroll until shortly before his arrest, and why there was such a long delay in publicizing the video have caused many in Chicago to call for the firing of Superintendent McCarthy—and for Mayor Emanuel to step down.