A handful confronted police officers, staring them down and shouting in their faces. The videos, released on DVDs, included the one widely circulated publicly Tuesday that shows the most complete coverage of the shooting released to date. Officials have pleaded with the public for restraint.
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In this frame from dash-cam video Laquan McDonald falls to the ground after being shot by officer Jason Van Dyke in Chicago, October 20, 2014. He also wants a special prosecutor appointed to the case, complaining that Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez took too long to bring a murder charge in the shooting, which happened 13 months ago.
Nearly immediately, one of the officers appears to fire from close range. McDonald spins around and crumples to the pavement. Warning: Video contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.
The auto with the camera continues to roll forward until the officers are out of the frame. Then McDonald can be seen lying on the ground, moving occasionally.
In the final moments, an officer kicks something out of McDonald’s hands. The newly released footage came from the dashboard cameras of five of the eight police squad cars present.
Police say he refused to drop a knife which was recovered from the scene. Police have not unveiled footage from the other three squad cars.
Writing on his Facebook page, the US President said: “Like many Americans, I was deeply disturbed by the footage of the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald”.
The Chicago Tribune newspaper quotes police as saying McDonald was behaving erratically, had drugs in his system, and refused police commands to drop a knife he was holding. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said that the city’s residents will “have to make an important judgment about our city and ourselves and go forward”.
“This incident is a tragedy and it’s absolutely unacceptable, but Jason Van Dyke’s actions are not representative of Superintendent McCarthy’s values or of the hard-working men and women of the Chicago Police Department”, a spokesperson for Emanuel told the New York Times. A protester is silhouetted against Chicago’s famed Wrigley Building as he directs others to shutdown traffic on both sides of the Michigan Ave. bridge over the Chicago River, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, one day after murd…
About 100 protestors marched through the city and some said they plan to shut down Chicago’s famous Magnificent Mile shopping area on the busy holiday shopping day, Black Friday.
London was among five people who were arrested on charges that included weapons possession and resisting arrest. The police have allowed protesters to march in the middle of the street and even hold rallies in the middle of intersections, and on Thursday the department said it would handle Friday’s march much the same way.
Police released four more dashcam videos Wednesday in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by NBC Chicago. After a judge’s order, the investigations were quickly wrapped up and a charge announced.
None of the officers approach McDonald to try to help him as he bleeds out on the street, writhing once in the remaining minute of video.
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While those watching the tape will have “the brilliance and benefit” of hindsight, the case should be tried in a courtroom, not in the media or the streets, he told reporters Tuesday.
