The threat was posted Saturday, just days after the city released a video of Officer Jason Van Dyke, who is white, shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was black, 16 times.
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The 37-year-old officer has been held without bond.
Dean Angelo, president of the local Fraternal Order of Police union, said he saw the video of the shooting, yet believed Van Dyke took “action that he believed at that time to be justified”. In court on Monday, Van Dyke wore a brown Cook County Jail jumpsuit, his hands and feet shackled as he was surrounded by several sheriff’s deputies. The video prompted protests in Chicago by activists who say the city tried to cover up the shooting.
Herbert said Van Dyke is prepared to defend himself.
Munoz said waiting longer than a year is questionable. One motorist told authorities he never saw McDonald lunge at any officers or do anything else threatening before he was shot.
At 9:57 p.m., McDonald can be seen in the video walking away from the officers near the center line of Pulaski Road.
Judge Donald Panarese Jr. watched the video Monday on a laptop standing in front of a packed courtroom, according to a DNAinfo Chicago report.
On November 24th, 2015, the officer who shot and killed him in reported hail of bullets was arrested and charged for first-degree murder following a successful media lawsuit for dash cam video of the shooting. Van Dyke had been on paid leave since McDonald’s death, but has since been fired from the Chicago police department. Alderman Howard Brookins said at the press conference, “We as a city have to demand better of our elected officials who are charged with protecting us all equally”. Prosecutors had asked that he continue to be held without bail. Van Dyke spent the last week behind bars, including Thanksgiving Day.
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The normally bustling campus was largely quiet Monday morning as Chicago Police Department and campus security vehicles patrolled streets. And I certainly do not apologize for conducting a meticulous and thorough investigation to build the strongest possible First Degree Murder case against Officer Van Dyke. Garcia posed a strong challenge to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s reelection effort earlier this year, forcing the incumbent into the first mayoral runoff in city history.
