Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Wednesday, May 3, 2017.
Analyzing how the “Laquan effect” has changed Chicago
Gun violence has increased dramatically in Chicago since the November 2015 release of a police dashcam video showing former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting unarmed 17-year-old Laquan McDonald to death with 16 shots. The video angered the majority of Chicagoans, including the at-risk west-side children and teens taught boxing by former gang member Derek Brown. “They were mad and didn’t know how to channel that anger,” Brown told WBEZ. “Instead of them lashing out on the authority figures, they were lashing out on each other. It’s just like—if my parent whoops me in the house, just whoops me for no reason—it’s easier for me to lash out on my little sister than to go at my parent.” It also made them think that they could get away with using gun violence to resolve a conflict, according to Brown. A new report and analysis of the data by WBEZ supports Brown’s anecdotes. Some experts believe that changes in law enforcement activity and the public’s lack of confidence in the police may also factor into why the shootings continue and aren’t slowing down. [WBEZ]
