Chicago releases video of cop shooting black teen
The Chicago police have released a shocking dash-cam video that captured a white officer fatally shooting an African-American teenager and striking him 16 times.
The graphic video, which was released on Tuesday, shows the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was killed by Jason Van Dyke on October 2014.
Protesters took to the streets of Chicago Tuesday night after the video was released. The city had been preparing for protests before the video was made public under orders from a judge.
The video came hours after officer Jason Van Dyke was ordered to be held without bond at a court hearing on a first-degree murder charge.
Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department Garry McCarthy said he understood how people will feel watching the video but urged calm.
"The officer in this case took a young man's life, and he's going to have to account for his actions," McCarthy added, "People have a right to be angry, people have a right to protest…but police will not tolerate criminal behavior.”
McDonald’s family also issued a statement asking for calm in Chicago. “No one understands the anger more than us but if you choose to speak out, we urge you to be peaceful,” the statement said, “Don’t resort to violence in Laquan’s name, let his legacy be better than that.”
State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez told reporters, “To watch a 17-year-old young man die in such a violent manner is deeply disturbing,” adding that, “The officer’s actions were not justified and were not a proper use of deadly force.”
The attorney noted, “He never moved toward, lunged at or did anything threatening.”
McDonald's autopsy found he was shot once on each side of his chest and suffered single bullet wounds in the scalp and neck, two in his back, seven in his arms, one in his right hand and two in his right leg.
Police stripped Van Dyke of his police powers after the shooting and put him on paid desk duty pending the outcome of the investigation.
The case marks the first time a Chicago police officer has been charged with first-degree murder for an on-duty fatality in nearly 35 years.
Van Dyke faces a minimum of 20 years in prison if convicted of first-degree murder.
Police brutality against minorities in the United States has been a major point of concern for long resulting in large-scale demonstrations across the country and the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement.
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