Chicago's top cop fired after black teen's shooting

Chicago’s mayor says Tuesday he fired the city’s police chief after a graphic video of an officer shooting a black teenager 16 times sparked a week of protest.

“The public trust in the leadership of the department has been shaken and eroded,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel tells reporters.

“Now is the time for fresh eyes and new leadership to confront the challenges,” he says, adding that outgoing police Superintendent Garry McCarthy’s record was nonetheless “a strong one and one he can be proud of.”

Tensions flared after officials released a dashcam video last Tuesday showing police officer Jason Van Dyke kill Laquan McDonald by shooting him 16 times as the teenager walked away in October 2014.

— AFP