Crime & Safety
Video of Chicago Cop Shooting Teen 16 Times Must Be Released: Judge
Chicago Police Department has less than a week to make the graphic video public.
A dash cam video showing a Chicago police officer shooting a 17-year-old African-American boy 16 times last year will have to be made public, a judge ruled Thursday.
City attorneys asked for an immediate motion to stay the decision. But Cook County Judge Franklin Valderrama ruled the Chicago Police Departmnet must release the video by Nov. 25.
The teen, 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, was walking along Pulaski Road in the city’s Archer Heights neighborhood when he was shot by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke 16 times in October 2014. He was allegedly holding a knife and had been suspected of breaking into cars nearby. Van Dyke has been under criminal investigation by the FBI and federal prosecutors in relation to the incident.
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In the video, McDonald was wielding a small knife and was walking away from police when one officer opens fire.
The video evidence has been withheld by the Chicago Police Department, which previously stated public viewing of the video would jeopardize the officer’s chances at a fair trial should one arise. But it was ruled Thursday the CPD could “not show that releasing video of McDonald’s shooting would jeopardize any ongoing probe,” according to Jason Meisner of the Chicago Tribune, reporting the decision on Twitter.
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Mayor Rahm Emanuel subsequently released this statement:
“Police officers are entrusted to uphold the law, and to provide safety to our residents. In this case unfortunately, it appears an officer violated that trust at every level. As a result, the city’s Independent Police Review Authority promptly sent this case and the evidence to state and federal prosecutors who have been investigating it for almost a year. In accordance with the judge’s ruling, the city will release the video by Nov. 25, which we hope will provide prosecutors time to expeditiously bring their investigation to a conclusion so Chicago can begin to heal.”
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