CHICAGO (CBS) -- Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said the fatal police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was "abominable," and the way the Emanuel administration handled it was "a failure," but he didn't go as far as calling for the mayor to resign.

In Chicago for a meeting with local religious and business leaders, Carson told reporters he was disturbed by the McDonald case that has dominated headlines here for weeks. Dashboard camera video of the McDonald shooting was kept under wraps for more than a year, and once it went public, it sparked an ongoing series of protests across the city.

Officer Jason Van Dyke has been charged with first-degree murder in McDonald's death, Police Supt. Garry McCarthy has been fired, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County States' Attorney Anita Alvarez have faced continuing demands to step down over the scandal.

"Whether it was a cover-up or not, it was hidden for a long time from the people, and that was a very inappropriate act, and it's hard to come up with a rational reason to do that, other than a political reason," he said.

Asked if he supports calls for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to resign over the city's handling of the McDonald case, Carson demurred.

"I think that's a decision for the people here in Chicago," he said.

Carson likened the McDonald case to the April shooting of Walter Scott, an unarmed black man who was shot and killed by a white police officer in South Carolina. Unlike the McDonald shooting, Scott's death triggered immediate public outrage.

"This act was really just as abominable, but in fact was not really brought to light for a year. That represents a failure of government," he said.

Carson said "everybody loses" when something like the McDonald shooting doesn't truly come to light for a year.

"We simply cannot condone this kind of activity. We cannot sweep it under the rug, and this is what creates a lot of the animosity that exists in our society today," he said.

Emanuel has said he has no intention of resigning, but has apologized for the shooting; has said he welcomes a Justice Department probe of the Police Department's policies and practices regarding the use of force; and has appointed a task force to review the department's training, oversight, and accountability.

Carson said citizens should have a say in reforms made at the Chicago Police Department. He also said someone should have dealt with Van Dyke – who has a history of complaints about misconduct and excessive force – before he shot and killed McDonald last year. However, none of the complaints resulted in any disciplinary action for Van Dyke.

"An individual like this policeman, my understanding is that there have been a number of other incidents before this that indicated that he might have been a bad apple. Someone has to be responsible enough in those situations to intervene before something like this happens," Carson said.