Judge Orders Video Of Teen Shot 16 Times By Police Released
By aaroncynic in News on Nov 19, 2015 9:37PM
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Cook County Judge Franklin Valderrama ordered the dashcam footage of McDonald, an African-American teen, who was shot 16 times by a white police officer be made public by or before Nov. 25, according to NBC5.
Police say they were responding to a report of a man slashing tires on the city’s south side. McDonald was found in the area holding a small knife, and was walking away from police. Officer Jason Van Dyke, who has 18 complaints for misconduct, fired a total 16 shots into McDonald, striking him all over his body, many of them as McDonald lay dead on the ground. Van Dyke was placed on desk duty since the shooting, but so far faces no criminal charges.
Video of the killing has been called extremely disturbing. Jeff Neslund, an attorney for the McDonald family, said:
"It shocks the conscience. The video was disturbing. It was described accurately by one of the witnesses as an execution. He was on the ground, and the police officer kept shooting."
City officials have tried to block release of the video, saying that it could harm an ongoing investigation, and plan to appeal the decision. ABC reports Attorney General Lisa Madigan, in a letter to police earlier this month demanding the video’s release, said those claims were “unsubstantiated" and wouldn’t deprive anyone of a fair trial since the independent Police Review Authority was conducting the investigation.
In a statement released Thursday afternoon, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office said they would release the video by the 25th:
"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 November 25, which we hope will provide prosecutors time to expeditiously bring their investigation to a conclusion so Chicago can begin to heal."