A judge on Monday set bond at $1.5 million for Jason Van Dyke.
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The Chicago police officer accused of fatally shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald one year ago was due back in court on Monday, so a judge can review video of the shooting, and decide if the officer should get bail. The union also put out a request for off-duty police officers to escort Van Dyke after his release.
Van Dyke’s attorney, Daniel Herbert argued that his client was not a flight risk, had significant ties to the community and planned to fight the charges.
After court, Herbert, who has previously said Van Dyke anxious for his life, challenged the filing of first-degree murder charges.
A suspect was arrested Monday in connection with an online threat of gun violence at the University of Chicago that prompted the school to cancel all classes and activities.
After demonstrators were released on Monday, Brooks and the NAACP tweeted saying they would continue pushing for justice for McDonald and others like him who have been killed by police. At his arraignment last week, Panarese Jr. said he wanted to viewthe video before making a ruling on bond for the veteran officer. Protesters took to the streets in the days after the video’s release.
After McDonald was shot by Van Dyke in October 2014, the shooting incident was first investigated by IPRA, which investigates all police-involved shootings.
The bond for Jason Van Dyke, the police officer charged with murder in McDonald’s death, has been set for $1.5 million. “The racial climate between minorities and cops is very bad”, said Steven Phillips, a black Chicago resident who observed the protest from outside the circle.
Unrest swept the city as protests immediately erupted and continued throughout the weekend, as the video disproved police claims that McDonald had lunged at Van Dyke before being shot to death. They also demanded a federal investigation into the Chicago Police Department.
In the audio-free video, McDonald can be seen walking down the middle of a four-lane street. Prosecutors say 14 to 15 seconds passed between the first shot at the last, and that McDonald was crumpled on the ground for 13 seconds.
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Police have said that McDonald was carrying a knife and an autopsy revealed that he had PCP, a hallucinogenic drug, in his system.
