South Siders say Rahm, Alvarez should be fired next

CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - A group of ministers led a protest outside Mayor Emanuel’s office Tuesday afternoon, saying he should be held accountable for Laquan McDonald’s death.

The group says if the police department had more accountability, McDonald would likely still be alive today. And now, they are calling for a new standard called "The Fair Cops Ordinance." It would create a permanent police auditor office to do daily checks on police action and analyze patterns of police misconduct.

Organizers said the firing of superintendent Garry McCarthy doesn't go deep enough. The protesters held signs with bloody hand prints to symbolize the blood they say is on the mayor's hands. Many say that all the blame shouldn’t fall on McCarthy’s shoulders.

Residents say McCarthy seems like a good guy, but they say they are glad he was fired. Overall, people seemed to like him, but not as the leader of the Chicago Police Department.

“Change starts from the top, and a message has to be sent from the top in order to affect the bottom,” Russell Moore told FOX 32 News.

For the past four years, Garry McCarthy has been in charge of safety in Chicago.

Russell Moore works in the heart of Englewood as the executive chef at Dreams Café. He says around the restaurant, policing has changed.

“Being an entrepreneur born and bred on the South Side, I have seen a visible police presence here. You can't go a block without seeing law enforcement, which is a good thing,” he told FOX 32 Tuesday afternoon.

Some credit McCarthy for what appears to be a decrease in violence and say when McCarthy started, he was fighting an uphill battle.

“He definitely made some strides, statistically they say crime numbers are down, but there's so much going on,” Duane Powell said.

Carolyn Rose says she thought she liked McCarthy and assumed Mayor Rahm Emanuel picked a good guy.

“I thought he was a good person until this incident happened. It just seems like somebody is just hiding something,” Rose said.

Over at Powell’s Barbershop, all the conversation has centered around the Laquan McDonald shooting.

“I think McCarthy is a cop from New York who came to Chicago to make it a better city and the city has actually gotten worse since he's been here,” Sunni Powell said.

Most people FOX 32 News spoke with were glad to see him go, but hope others go with him.

“It’s like a black hole. All the light is being sucked in and we have got to get out of this situation,” Powell said.

Many say they hope state's attorney Anita Alvarez, others in the police department and Mayor Rahm Emanuel are next to resign.