A Chicago police officer
is charged with first-degree murder after the killing of a teen shot 16 times while in a fetal position.
CHICAGO — Hours after a Chicago police officer was ordered held without bond Tuesday on a firstdegree murder charge, the city released a shocking police dash-cam video that captured the white officer opening fire on an African-American teen authorities say was armed with a knife, fatally striking him 16 times.
The video is about six minutes long and appears to show Laquan McDonald, 17, running down a street when Officer Jason Van Dyke, standing next to his SUV, opens fire.
Shortly after its release, protesters began marching through Chicago streets. Several hundred blocked traffic. Some circled police cars in an intersection and chanted “16 shots.” No violence was immediately reported.
“I’m so hurt and so angry,” said Jedidiah Brown, an activist and pastor. “I can feel pain through my body.”
Earlier in the day before the video was made available, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and police Superintendent Garry McCarthy urged calm as they expressed understanding.
“The officer in this case took a young man’s life, and he’s going to have to account for his actions,” McCarthy said. “People have a right to be angry.”
But police will not tolerate criminal behavior, he warned.
Emanuel said he hopes the city will “rise to the moment.”
“This episode can be a moment of understanding and learning,” he said.
The release capped a day that started with rare murder charges being filed against Van Dyke, 37.
Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez said she had decided weeks ago to charge Van Dyke but was holding off until federal authorities completed their part of the joint investigation.
She said she “moved up” her decision to charge the officer after a Cook County judge ruled last week that the video should be released to the public.
Alvarez said the video shows McDonald lying on the ground while shots continue to strike his body and the pavement near him, with puffs of debris kicking up and his arms and body jerking as he hit.
Meanwhile, McDonald’s family issued a statement asking for calm.
“No one understands the anger more than us but if you choose to speak out, we urge you to be peaceful,” the statement said. “Don’t resort to violence in Laquan’s name.”
Judge Donald Panarese ordered Van Dyke held without bail until Monday, after the judge views and assesses the video.
The one-page criminal complaint lodged against Van Dyke charged him with shooting McDonald “without legal justification and with the intent to kill or do great bodily harm.”
According to interviews with other officers at the scene, McDonald never spoke to them or responded to commands to drop the knife he had.
Meanwhile, Van Dyke’s wife, Tiffany, allegedly set up a GoFundMe page asking for online donations for her husband’s bond. The page was later removed.
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