Two other officers in another SUV were making a U-turn on Pulaski when Van Dyke opened fire, and said they only heard the shooting.
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The reports written in shorthand refer to Van Dyke as VD and to McDonald as O, describing him as the “offender”, according to the Tribune. Multiple officers reported that even after McDonald was down, he kept trying to rise while holding the knife.
“In defence of his life, Van Dyke back-pedalled and fired his handgun at McDonald, to stop the attack”, one report reads. O fell to ground, continued to move/grasp knife.
In typed notes from March’s report, Van Dyke told the detective that “McDonald raised the knife across his chest and over his shoulder, pointing the knife at Van Dyke”.
Last week, more than 13 months after the tragic shooting of Laquan McDonald, Chicago officials under a court order, released the horrifying video of the teenager being shot 16 times by a Chicago Police Officer who had arrived on the scene less than 30 seconds prior to opening fire. He also said the department had recently issued a bulletin, warning officers that there are knives that can shoot bullets.
The U.S. attorney’s office is investigating the issue, and a number of officials have called for a broader intervention by the U.S. Justice Department.
He had continued to work for the police department after the shooting, but was sacked last month. His death revived questions about police treatment of minorities throughout the United States and energized the national Black Lives Matter movement.
The city has released information – including the video – in dribs and drabs, prolonging the scandal around McDonald’s shooting. The city’s early efforts coincided with Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s re-election campaign, when he was seeking African-American votes.
The release of the footage, which doesn’t have sound, triggered protests and calls for public officials to resign, including Emanuel.
However, the Justice Department said on Tuesday “that the department did not ask the city to withhold the video from the public because of its investigation”.
Police misconduct has been a recurring theme in Emanuel’s tenure as mayor of Chicago.
Van Dyke may have been a 14-year veteran of the department, but no stranger to controversy. Herbert didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
A Chicago police spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi, said the Independent Police Review Authority conducts all investigations of officer-involved shootings and the agency was given the case report and videos.
Records show that a federal grand jury subpoenaed the Chicago Police Department for these same reports on August 28.
“You’ve got police reports that say the guy lunged and a video that says that didn’t happen at all”, Turner said.
“I join with those calling for a federal investigation into the practices of the Chicago Police Department”, Mr. Sanders said in a statement released Friday. The authority, which did not return a message left Friday, has not released its report on the McDonald shooting. The protesters claim that Alvarez and Emanuel covered up the case.
Police have denied the deleted 86 minutes, but as News 5 reports, “as they were looking at security footage, another Burger King security camera was looking at them”.
According to Van Dyke’s account, he repeatedly ordered McDonald to drop the knife.
Three officers (Walsh, Daphne Sebastian and Janet Mondragon) corroborated Van Dyke’s claim that McDonald was waving the knife and approaching the officers. “Van Dyke continued to fire his weapon at McDonald as McDonald was on the ground, as McDonald appeared to be attempting to get up, all the while continuing to point the knife at Van Dyke”.
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The Chicago Tribune report indicated that Van Dyke may have had an explanation for the killing of Laquan McDonald.
