But activists and attorneys countered that the public had a right to see the video, which was captured by a police vehicle dashboard camera. They said the department did not have the legal right to withhold the video because other agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation are the ones investigating, not Chicago police. The officer opened fire because he feared for his life in that moment, police reports say.
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Herbert maintained that he’s confident the officer’s actions were “not only lawful, but also within department police and within his training”.
Police have said officers were responding to a call about a person walking down a street with a knife, and that McDonald refused to drop the knife when ordered to do so by officers.
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, giving the city until November 25 to release it. The video reportedly shows McDonald’s body palpitating quickly several times, consistent with shots striking.
“It appears an officer violated [the public’s] trust at every level”, Emanuel said in a statement Thursday, adding that he hoped the video’s release “will provide prosecutors time to… bring their investigation to a conclusion so Chicago can begin to heal”. The city won’t appeal that ruling, and she won’t challenge it either.
The city of Chicago filed an immediate motion to hold off on the release of the video pending an emergency appeal.
The Rev. Marshall Hatch, a prominent minister on the city’s West Side, said residents are angered by the department’s attempt to keep the public from seeing the video.
If there is an indictment against the officer, it is not clear if it would come from the State’s Attorney or federal prosecutors since a federal grand jury is also looking at the case. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Zach Fardon said they would stay away from commenting on that.
In his opinion, Assistant Attorney General Neil Olson wrote that police had failed to explain how the video’s release would damage any investigation or jeopardize a fair trial.
Van Dyke has been put on paid administrative leave since the shooting, police said.
Thirteen months ago, in October 2014, Chicago teenager Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times by Officer Jason Van Dyke. “He knows in his heart of hearts that his actions were appropriate”.
In July, the Texas Department of Public Safety released dash cam video weeks after a Naperville woman, Sandra Bland, was involved in a controversial traffic stop.
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.
John Kass, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune, said the video “could tear Chicago apart”.
Dean Angelo, the president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, told CNN affiliate WBBM he is concerned protesters from outside the city may converge to “disrupt and cause problems”.
“This is my city”.
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“Regardless of what this tape reveals, we want the community to exercise first amendment rights and demand justice, but to do it peacefully and effectively”, Calloway said.
