Protesters at Rahm Emanuel's House: 'He Doesn't Understand We're Fed Up'

A small group of protesters gathered outside Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s North Side home Tuesday afternoon and evening and chanted “Rahm gotta go” and other slogans as uniformed officers stood guard.

Earlier in the day, City Hall announced that Emanuel would be returning from his vacation in Cuba early in response to the weekend police shooting that left a 55-year-old grandmother, Bettie Jones, and 19-year-old Quintonio Legrier, dead on the West Side. That teen’s father, Antonio Legrier, appeared on CNN Tuesday and in an emotional interview described the scene he found after an officer shot his son. He lamented that no one helped him. On Monday, he filed a lawsuit against the city.

The protests and calls for the mayor’s resignation began immediately after a video was released in November showing a police officer shoot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times. That officer, Jason Van Dyke, appeared in court Tuesday morning and pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges.

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The McDonald case and the ensuing protests prompted the U.S. attorney general to begin a Justice Department Civil Rights Division investigation of Chicago police. The West Side shooting is seen by police department critics as more evidence the force must change.

Ja’Mal Green, an activist who once assisted with city anti-violence campaigns, said change must begin with the mayor leaving office.

“Today, we’re asking you, right in front your house, for Rahm Emanuel to step down,” Green said.

As the sun set, some protesters began to push up on police officers and shout at them, which resulted in some scuffling.

Around 7 p.m., two black SUVs pulled up near the house. Protesters speculated the mayor was inside one of the SUVs, and they began shouting. The SUVs sped away.

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