Ever since his death, advocates have been feverishly fighting for the dash cam footage to be released, which reportedly shows the teen walking away from officers before Van Dyke opens fire from about 15 feet away.
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“Two seconds later, Laquan McDonald is lying on the street on his right side, and the video captures what appears to be two puffs of smoke coming from the ground near his body”.
Bus riders watch as demonstrators on Tuesday marched through downtown Chicago after the release of a video showing police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting and killing Laquan McDonald in Chicago on October 20, 2014.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel appealed for calm and said he hoped the city could use the incident as an opportunity to “build bridges of understanding” between police and young men like McDonald.
A prosecutor at Officer Jason Van Dyke’s hearing said that McDonald did not step towards the officer, but the officer allegedly took at least one step towards him. Van Dyke, 37, has said through his lawyer and the police union that the shooting was justified because he felt threatened by McDonald. It’s obvious that he shouldn’t have been allowed to have a badge and a gun. The officer was charged with murder Tuesday. More officers arrive but none attempt aid. Chicago police scuffle with protesters in Chicago, on Tuesday, November 24, 2015. The officers didn’t provide medical aid to McDonald.
Protesters remained on the streets at 1:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. ET) but police declined to comment on whether arrests had been made. McDonald lifts his head, moves an arm and then a cloud from another gunshot rises up from his chest as he lays in a fetal position.
The Police Department said placing an officer on desk duty after a shooting is standard procedure and that it is prohibited from doing anything more during the investigations. Dozens of men, mostly African American, said they were subjected to torture at the hands of a Chicago police squad headed by former commander Jon Burge during the 1970s, ’80s and early ’90s, and many spent years in prison.
The grainy nighttime video, which opened with a lengthy segment of the police auto rushing to the scene, showed Mr. McDonald running and then walking past the officers in the middle of the street and twirling when he is suddenly struck down by bullets.
The City of Chicago has paid Laquan’s family $5 million.
I understand that people will be upset and will want to protest when they see this video.
Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners – the legislative body for the county that includes the city of Chicago – issued a statement praising Cook County Judge Franklin Valderrama for ordering the video’s release.
Shot from an approaching cruiser, it exhibits McDonald run down the center of the road in the direction of a cruiser, hitch up his trousers after which begin to stroll away from Van Dyke and his companion.
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Whether Van Dyke’s indictment on murder charges announced earlier today will have a bearing on the outcome of the evening’s protests is largely a question of how well the city and protesters carry themselves at an incredibly tense moment in an incredibly volatile place.
