Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson told reporters in Chicago Thursday that the decision by city officials to withhold for more than a year dash-cam footage of a police officer shooting and killing a black teenager in October 2014 could only have been for “political reasons.”
“Whether it was a cover-up or not, it was hidden for a long time. It’s hard to come up with a rational reason to do that other than a political reason,” Carson said following remarks at a private roundtable meeting of religious leaders.
The GOP hopeful said Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times was an “abominable” act in and of itself, but to “sweep it under the rug” for 13 months only contributed to animosity among law enforcement, city council members and the public.
Carson’s criticism comes one day after Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s apology for how his office has handled the incident. Carson, ranked sixth in the Washington Examiner‘s power rankings, would not comment on whether he believes the mayor should resign, calling it “a decision for the people here in Chicago” to handle.
