McCarthy: 'I will not give up on the good people of Chicago'

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Former Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy joined ABC7 Eyewitness News Tuesday morning, hours before his resignation was announced by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Many called for McCarthy to resign after the Nov. 24 release of dash-cam video showing the October 2014 murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. The video, which shows a white Chicago police officer shooting the black teen 16 times, sparked days of protests in the city.

Officer Jason Van Dyke was charged with first degree murder shortly before the video was released. He posted bond Monday and was released from jail.

Chicago citizens, aldermen and ministers by McDonald's death said they had no confidence in McCarthy's leadership and said things need to change in the city.

The Chicago Sun-Times editorial board also called for McCarthy's resignation or for the mayor to fire him, saying the city faces a historic crisis of police mistrust with officers who are almost never disciplined for alleged misconduct.

McCarthy said early Tuesday he had no plans to step down and "will not give up on the good people of Chicago." He said tremendous change had taken place in the city since he took the job.

"There has been enormous change over the last four and a half years. This is all being lost. In the last four years, people are talking about cultural change in the Chicago Police Department. We've got almost half the number of complaints from civilians this year compared to last year. Police-related shootings over the last four years are down almost 70 percent, based on policy changes, supervision and training. Those are things I'm in control of," McCarthy said.

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When asked about why Van Dyke, 37, was never disciplined for the 18 civilian complaints filed against him in his 14 years with the department, McCarthy said the last seven complaints were not investigated by the department.

"They were investigated by the outside agency that the community is clamoring for. That's IPRA. Our authority in investigating those complaints is not very strong," McCarthy said.

Emanuel said later on Tuesday that McCarthy resigned at the mayor's request. The mayor also announced the creation of a new task force to review the Chicago Police Department's current system for accountability, oversight and training.

"We've got to sit down. We've got to get the facts out. There's a lot of things that are being lost. There's a lot of things that are being presented as facts and are not factual. For instance, what I can and can't do," McCarthy said. "I have accountability, quite obviously, but I don't have authority. Without authority, you can't, in fact, get things done the way you need to get things done."