A grand jury on Tuesday returned an indictment on six murder charges and one count of official misconduct against a Chicago police officer in the shooting death of Laquan McDonald, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.
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Police dashcam footage captured Van Dyke firing 16 shots at McDonald in October 2014. At first, Mayor Emanuel was against the U.S. Department of Justice starting a probe of the police force, but has changed his mind.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel initially resisted the idea of a federal civil rights investigation, calling it “misguided”.
The federal investigation into “use of force” by the Chicago police department is now underway.
The U.S. Department of Justice wants Chicago to know exactly how to submit complaints about the Chicago Police Department in the wake of the release of the Laquan McDonald shooting video and has distributed those details to community leaders.
The case has created a firestorm after the release last month of a dash-cam video showed Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times within seconds of stepping out of his police vehicle as the black teen moved away from the white officer.
The head of the Chicago police union, Dean Angelo, told WTTW-TV he already met with Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, who leads the investigation.
Another department veteran, Eugene Roy, was named as the Chicago Police Department’s Chief of Detectives.
Van Dyke attorney Daniel Herbert did not return a phone call Wednesday night from The Associated Press. Emanuel was scheduled to meet with Department of Justice officials Thursday.
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Officer Van Dyke has been free on bail after posting $1.5 million shortly after the initial charge was brought, and he is expected back in court on Friday to plead not guilty to the seven-count indictment, local media reported. The Civil Rights Division also had initial meetings with community members and organizations in order to solicit information and explain the pattern or practice investigation’s scope and process.
