A Cook County judge is expected to rule on a Freedom of Information request tomorrow.
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An autopsy report from the Cook County medical examiner’s office showed that McDonald was shot 16 times, at least twice in the back. McDonald’s family attorneys and some witness, however, said that the teen was walking away from the police officer when he was shot.
An Illinois judge ruled Thursday the video showing the fatal shooting of a black teenager by a white Chicago police officer has to be released, according to WGN-TV in Chicago.
CHICAGO (AP) – The video is graphic, according to some who have seen it: A black teenager wielding a small knife is walking away from Chicago police officers when an officer opens fire, shooting the teen 16 times.
A Wall Street Journal reporter and the Chicago Tribune have submitted FOIA requests for the video, but the requests have been denied.
Smith, his attorney and community activist William Calloway addressed the press following the hearing, praising the judge’s ruling while acknowledging that the video’s release could spur protests.
The judge then rejected a request by attorneys for the police to stay his ruling while they appeal.
Police have said the officer who shot McDonald had been stripped of his police powers and assigned to desk duty.
In an 18-page ruling, Valderrama said the police could not apply an exemption to Freedom of Information Act rules.
The city has said releasing the video would interfere with the investigation, and jeopardize a fair trial. The report also said PCP, a hallucinogenic drug, was found in McDonald’s system.
A $5 million settlement has been agreed between the city of Chicago and the McDonald family.
McDonald’s mother hasn’t seen the video, and she doesn’t want it shown publicly, because she fears it could spark riots.
“He fell to the ground, and I guess he tried to get up or move, and they just unloaded the rest of the clip on him”, the alleged eyewitness said.
In April 2015, the FBI announced a joint investigation with the Cook County state’s attorney’s office and the city’s Independent Police Review Authority, into the shooting.
Emanuel, who has made a push for transparency a key issue of his administration, had been fighting an uphill public relations battle in his quest to keep the video from the public eye until the “appropriate time”.
In this “day and age” there’s the possibility that someone could try to harm Van Dyke because they don’t understand the context in which the shooting occurred.
Data recently released by Mandel Legal Aid Clinic of the University of Chicago Law School and a nonprofit journalism group called The Invisible Institute showed thousands of citizen complaints against officers have resulted in little discipline against the officers. A deadline of November 25 was given for the release, during which time the city can go before an appeals court.
Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tells the Sun-Times the police department is preparing for a possible violent response from protesters when the video is released. Officer Van Dyke may possibly be indicted next week.
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“I’m concerned that people will take the faults of one police officer and accuse the whole Police Department of being bad apples when it’s no reflection on officers who do the right thing so often”.
