The Latest: Police detain 2 after scuffle at Chicago protest


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CHICAGO (AP) — The latest developments in the fallout from fatal police shootings in Chicago and a federal civil rights investigation into the city's police department (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

Police officers manning a bicycle barricade on Chicago's Michigan Avenue took two protesters into custody after a scuffle during which police bikes were overturned and officers and protesters grabbed and pushed one another.

There were no apparent injuries. The skirmish came about three hours into what had been a mostly peaceful demonstration.

The protest Thursday is the latest in a series of demonstrations in the city since the release last month of police video showing a white officer shooting a black teenager 16 times. A federal civil rights investigation of the city's police department is underway.

1:30 p.m.

Protesters briefly blocked the entrance to a Michigan Avenue Apple Store, chanting, "No justice, no profits." Police on bikes slipped behind the protesters to secure the store's entrance.

Most shoppers on the street Thursday seemed undeterred, some walking through groups of protesters.

The release last month of police dashcam video showing the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald has led to weeks of sporadic protests. Organizers are hoping the Christmas Eve demonstration will be a repeat of another Michigan Avenue demonstration in which a few hundred people disrupted shopping there on Black Friday.

Officer Jason Van Dyke has been charged with first-degree murder in McDonald's death.

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1:00 p.m.

More than 50 protesters gathered on a bridge over the Chicago River before heading down Michigan Avenue, which is crowded with last-minute Christmas shoppers.

The protest Thursday is the latest in a series of demonstrations in the city since the release last month of police video showing a white officer shoot a black teenager 16 times. Protesters are critical of the police department's treatment of suspects, particularly black ones.

The protest is smaller than one held in the same shopping district on Black Friday. Many protesters are holding signs that read "Rahm Resign," which are aimed at Chicago's mayor, Rahm Emanuel.

Officer Jason Van Dyke has been charged with first-degree murder in the October 2014 killing of Laquan McDonald.

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11:30 a.m.

The Chicago Police Department says officers will wear body cameras in six South Side or West Side neighborhoods starting this spring.

The department said in a news release Wednesday that the six areas were chosen after a review of patrol activity and crime data.

Officers have already worn them in one North Side district.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the cameras will help "build trust" in the police. Emanuel and the department have faced heavy criticism over officers' treatment of suspects, including the 2014 killing of a black teenager who was shot 16 times.

The University of Illinois at Chicago's Center for Research in Law and Justice will study the body camera program. It will examine whether the cameras have any impact on the use of force, police decision-making and citizen complaints.

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8:30 a.m.

Demonstrators are planning to march through downtown Chicago's high-end shopping district again to draw attention to the 2014 police killing of a black teenager who was shot 16 times by a white officer.

Organizers are hoping the Christmas Eve demonstration will be a repeat of another Michigan Avenue demonstration in which a few hundred people disrupted shopping there on Black Friday.

A group calling itself The Coalition for a New Chicago says the march will begin a noon at the south end of the Magnificent Mile shopping district and move north.

The area is one of the largest shopping attractions in the Midwest and hosts many high-end stores and hotels.

The release last month of police dashcam video showing the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald has led to weeks of sporadic protests.

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5:45 a.m.

Audio recordings of radio calls between Chicago police and a dispatcher show at least one officer had requested a Taser before the fatal police shooting of a black teenager.

Seventeen-year-old Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times by one of several officers responding to a complaint about car break-ins in October 2014. The release of police dashcam video last month showing the shooting has set off weeks of protests. McDonald was carrying a knife, but appeared to be walking away from officers.

The dashcam recordings have no audio.

WMAQ-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1m74IM6 ) that it obtained audio of dispatch calls through a Freedom of Information Act Request.

It shows that at least one officer on the scene was looking for a non-lethal way of subduing the teen.

It remains unclear which officer requested the Taser or whether an officer with a stun gun arrived on the scene.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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