September 25, 2016 – Now that he’s the former Chicago police superintendent, Garry McCarthy was mincing no words in River North during a recent City Club of Chicago luncheon talk.

For openers, McCarthy, now a private security consultant, made it clear he would have never released the Laquan McDonald shooting video as long as it was considered evidence in an ongoing criminal investigation. McCarthy says he wasn’t asked his opinion about whether to release the video and the decision was part of a “knee jerk” trend that in the long run undermines effective policing.

“If the officer in the McDonald shooting is not convicted, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was because of the steps that were taken, policy-wise,” said McCarthy. “There’s not an attorney that I’ve spoken to who likes the idea of having evidence in a case that’s being prosecuted or pending being released to the public. Just because people want something doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”

(Right) Frame from police video of the shooting of Laquan McDonald on October 20, 2014. Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder. (Click on image to view larger version.)

Releasing such a video before a trial, says McCarthy, only empowers criminals and does not build trust with the public.

“If the video comes out today or two years from now when the case is over, does it make much of a difference? But if you’re compromising a criminal investigation, I think it makes a really, really, really big difference.”

Incidents such as the Laquan McDonald shooting could have been prevented with better training, tactics, policies, and supervision, McCarthy told a crowd of more than 200 people at Maggiano’s on September 19.

“We make mistakes, absolutely we do, and where appropriate, we prosecute and discipline [police officers]. That’s what should happen, I agree with that one thousand percent. But the police are not the problem in this country. The criminals are. But I don’t think anyone has the audacity to say that today because, politically speaking, you’re either on the bus or under it.”

Non-compliance is what provokes police to use lethal force, says McCarthy, noting that some community leaders have urged their followers not to cooperate with the police.

“The greatest danger in my mind in American society today is the legitimatizing of non-compliance with the law,” he says. “We’re reaching a state of lawlessness in this country,”