Both Anita Alvarez and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel are being called on to resign following the release of dash cam video, showing a white officer killing a black teenager last week.
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The documents reportedly state that at least five officers, including Officer Jason Van Dyke, said that 17-year-old McDonald approached officers while armed with a knife, even though the videotape of the October 2014 shooting showed McDonald veering away from officers before he was shot 16 times.
Viewers could see and supposedly hear Officer Jason Van Dyke firing nine rapid shots at Laquan McDonald, pausing for almost 10 seconds, then firing seven more as McDonald lay on the ground.
Newly released documents in the fatal shooting of Chicago teen Laquan McDonald – including original incident reports, as well as summaries filed later by detectives – show that critical aspects of some officers’ version of events are not backed up by the now widely-viewed video of the incident.
Emanuel said the new task force, which will be advised by former Massachusetts Governor and Chicago native Deval Patrick, will review the system of accountability, oversight and training in the police department. “VD continued firing. O appeared to be attempting to get up, still holding the knife, pointing at VD”.
Boykin also wants an independent prosecutor to handle the murder case against Van Dyke. The Chicago City Council Black caucus had also called for him to leave. Civil rights leaders rightly are demanding a federal investigation.
Van Dyke told an investigator that McDonald was “swinging the knife in an aggressive, exaggerated manner” and that McDonald “raised the knife across chest” and pointed it at Van Dyke, according to one police report.
Both Alvarez and Emanuel have gone on record saying they would not step down.
Charleston, South Carolina: In April, the public viewing of a bystander’s cellphone video prompted police in North Charleston, South Carolina, to release a dashcam video of white officer Michael Slager shooting Walter Scott, an unarmed black man. Slager has been charged with murder and is awaiting a trial date. The video of Laquan’s shooting was recently released after being held for 400 days.
Another contradiction is whether McDonald’s knife was folded when officers recovered it at the scene.
McDonald was being chased by police after reports he was burglarizing vehicles. But one of the police reports said the recovered knife’s “blade was in the open position”.
One of the reports noted what it called McDonald’s “irrational behavior”, such as ignoring verbal directions and “growling” and making noises.
Redactions in the police reports cover signatures, a reporter’s cellphone number, the serial number of the officer’s gun and McDonald’s address.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the city will release video next week of another man who was fatally shot by police.
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A manager of that Burger King has accused Chicago police who came into the restaurant shortly after the shooting of erasing surveillance video. Emanuel has since fired the police chief, expanded a body camera program and formed a task force.
