Photos: Med Students Call For Rahm's Resignation At City Hall Die-In

By Emma G. Gallegos in News on Dec 10, 2015 6:31PM

Medical students donned their white coats to stage a protest calling attention to what they say is a public health crisis: City Hall's cover-up of police violence. During the "die-in," students lay down on the sidewalk for 16 minutes to represent each of the 16 shots police fired at Laquan McDonald. The protest joined in the chorus of voices calling on the mayor to resign.

Here's a video from that moment of silence on the sidewalk:

The medical students and residents came from several local schools, including the University of Chicago and Rush University, according to ABC 7. They argue that excessive violence and the lack of accountability by city leaders is a full-blown public health crisis. They held up signs with their profession's motto: "do no harm," as well as "black lives matter."

Some of them used the hashtag #whitecoats4blacklives, aligning themselves with a broader national movement among medical professionals protesting systemic violence and police brutality.

"We want Rahm Emanuel to resign because we're tired of the cover-up. We're tired of all of the police brutality. We're tired of the systemic racism in Chicago and something needs to be done about it," Rush medical student Paris Austell told ABC.

The protest happened around 8 a.m. this morning, the Tribune notes. CBS estimates there were about 100 protesters involved.

And here are a few more photos: