Police officer Jason Van Dyke has been charged with the first-degree murder of 17-year-old LaQuan McDonald after fatally shooting him 16 times in October, 2014.
The dash cam footage of the incident was released as the result of a court order and it greatly contradicts the police account of what happened.
This is how the police union described the shooting to the Chicago Tribune according an article published on October 21st, 2014:
“He’s got a 100-yard stare. He’s staring blankly,” [Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Pat] Camden said of the teen. “[He] walked up to a car and stabbed the tire of the car and kept walking.”
Officers remained in their car and followed McDonald as he walked south on Pulaski Road. More officers arrived and police tried to box the teen in with two squad cars, Camden said. McDonald punctured one of the squad car’s front passenger-side tires and damaged the front windshield, police and Camden said.
Officers got out of their car and began approaching McDonald, again telling him to drop the knife, Camden said. The boy allegedly lunged at police, and one of the officers opened fire.
McDonald was shot in the chest and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:42 p.m.
According to the footage released today, that is NOT what happened. The video shows 17-year-old McDonald walking adjacent to the officers before Van Dyke opened fire, shooting Laquan 16 times. Officer Van Dyke continued firing at the boy even after he was on the ground and motionless.
Warning: Graphic video below.
Outraged by the video and the intended cover up of police brutality, protesters have taken to the Chicago streets.
Group of protesters trying to cross bridge east of Michigan on Balbo. #LaquanMcDonald pic.twitter.com/cj9UGW8w8B
— Justin Allen (@Allen_Justin) November 25, 2015
A CNN correspondent describes protests over the #LaquanMcDonald shooting case in #Chicago https://t.co/WCzpRDCtR6 https://t.co/37nybf1lRx
— CNN (@CNN) November 25, 2015
https://twitter.com/ZachStafford/status/669335274791510017
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