Former Newark police director Garry McCarthy is out as Chicago Police Department Superintendent following amid fallout over the killing of a South Side teen by a city police officer.
NEWARK -- Citing a lack of public trust, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has dismissed former Newark police director Garry McCarthy from his job as the Windy City's top cop, reports say.
The now former Chicago police superintendent parted ways with the department Tuesday amid fallout for the city's handling of the killing of a black teen shot to death by a Chicago police officer last year, the reports state.
"Now is the time for fresh eyes and new leadership to confront the challenges the department and our community and our city are facing as we go forward," Emanuel said at a Tuesday morning press conference.
Hired by then-Mayor Cory Booker in 2006, McCarthy served nearly six years as Newark police director before accepting an offer from Emanuel to assume leadership of the city's 13,000-plus member police department in 2011.
McCarthy's departure comes as Chicago city officials face intense criticism over the death of Laquan McDonald.
The fatal shooting has led to first-degree murder charges for Officer Jason Van Dyke, who according to reports shot McDonald 16 times in an Oct. 2014 incident on the city's South Side.
A spokesman for the Chicago police union said immediately following the shooting that McDonald lunged at officers before he was killed, reports say. In statements released later, police claimed McDonald "refused to comply with orders to drop the knife and continued to approach the officers," according to news reports.
But video released to the public last week upon order by a Cook County judge appeared to contradict those initial statements, showing McDonald walking down the street and away from police as Van Dyke opened fire, the reports state.
The video's release ignited a city-wide backlash that saw week-long protests and calls for McCarthy's ouster, according to reports.
First Deputy Superintendent John Escalante will serve as acting superintendent while city officials search for McCarthy's replacement, reports state.
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