A mayoral spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to an email asking if the move comes in response to a rash of protests following the release of a video showing a white police officer shooting black 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times.
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Officer Jason Van Dyke’s mugshot taken in Chicago on November 24. Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder on the same day.
At one point, Van Dyke’s father stumbled and then in apparent frustration with all the media, shoved a FOX 32 photographer in the face. During this week’s bond hearing, Judge Donald Panarese Jr. viewed the dashcam footage, which was publically released last week.
Van Dyke was the subject of 18 civilian complaints over 14 years, including allegations that he used racial epithets and excessive force.
A former government civil rights lawyer, Mr Patrick said he hoped to help restore the community’s confidence in the police and rebuild the system of accountability. “We have encouraged it through our email”, Dean Angelo, FOP President told FOX 32’s Larry Yellen. He also says Van Dyke “absolutely” can defend his actions in court.
The video Panarese watched Monday in court already had enraged many in Chicago. Dashboard camera footage from October 2014 shows the 17-year-old walking in the middle of a street toward squad cars while holding a knife.
Mr McCarthy’s departure came a day after Van Dyke, 37, was released on US$1.5 million (£1 milllion) bail less than a week after being charged with Mr McDonald’s murder.
Emanuel will hold a news conference Tuesday morning to announce the new effort. But long before that, he said Officer Dante Servin should never have been charged with a crime.
In May, Burger King district manager Jay Darshane accused officers of deleting the security footage after spending over three hours in the fast food restaurant on the night of the shooting. “But there are certain things I know that quite frankly nobody else knows”. “I took screenshots of it”, he told the Tribune. Van Dyke’s attorney said he was hopeful his client could be released in the “very near future”. After the video was released, Chicago protesters walked down Michigan Avenue chanting “16 shots”.
Embroiled in a political firestorm over his city’s handling of a shocking police shooting, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is seeking to mend fences. Some are calling for Alvarez to resign, while others are beyond upset with Emmanuel for waiting 13 months to file charges against Van Dyke.
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Emanuel said McCarthy had become “a distraction”. A user posted on an online forum that he meant to shoot 16 white students-ostensibly because that’s how many times McDonald was shot. Police said Johnson had a gun and turned toward officers before being shot. Radio traffic shows officers asked for backup from officers armed with Tasers.
