The Chicago Police Department had said releasing the video could taint ongoing IL state and federal investigations of the officer, whose identity and race have not been disclosed by the department. It was initially thought that an emergency appeal was likely. The statement says “it appears an officer violated (the public’s) trust at every level”. There are fears it could spark unrest similar to the protests in Ferguson, Missouri.
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A lawyer for the teen’s family has said the video from a patrol auto dashboard camera showed McDonald with a knife in his hand but moving away from police.
A Cook County judge ruled on Thursday that a video allegedly showing a black teenager being shot 16 times and killed by a Chicago police officer previous year should be released.
“There is a tremendous public interest in the immediate release of this video”, argued Smith’s attorney Matt Topic, later adding, “We think it’s time for the city to release this video and not continue this fight”.
A judge says his order for the Chicago Police Department to publicly release a video of an officer fatally shooting a black teenager in less than a week will stand.
The teen, 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, was walking along Pulaski Road in the city’s Archer Heights neighborhood when he was shot by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke 16 times in October 2014. Police have released few details about the shooting, citing the ongoing investigation, but the city’s attorney has said that McDonald was walking away from police when he was shot. The mayor said he expected prosecutors to quickly conclude their year-long investigation of the case.
“Police officers are entrusted to uphold the law, and to provide safety to our residents”.
He said Hunter was not part of the battle to release the video.
The Chicago City Council took the unusual step in April of approving a $5 million settlement with McDonald’s family, even though the family hadn’t filed a lawsuit, after being advised to do so by a city attorney who had seen the video.
Van Dyke’s attorney, Dan Herbert, said he is concerned that someone could try to harm the officer because they do not understand the context in which the shooting occurred.
The judge said the video must be released no later than November 25 but that will likely be delayed as the city says it will appeal. “What mother would want to see the execution of her son over and over again on the nightly news or YouTube”, Robbins said. Police have said he was stripped of his police powers and assigned to desk duty after the shooting. McDonald’s autopsy revealed that he had PCP hallucigenic drug in his system and was shot 16 times. Herbert is bracing for a judge to order the video’s release because the lawyer does not see any legal basis to suppress it.
Freelance journalist Brandon Smith sued the police after they denied his request for the video under the IL Freedom of Information Act, and a judge decided in Smith’s favor on Thursday.
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Earlier this month, the office of the IL Attorney General Lisa Madigan delivered an opinion that the Chicago Police Department violated the state Freedom of Information law, when it denied a separate open records request made by a Wall Street Journal reporter for the dashcam video.
