Laquan McDonald, a black 17-year-old boy and Chicago-resident carrying a three-inch knife, was shot 16 times by white police officer Jason Van Dyke in Chicago, Illinois on Oct. 20, 2014. A video of the shooting captured on a police cruiser dashcam was ordered to be released to the public on Nov. 24, 2015. Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder within hours of the video’s release.
Since Laquan McDonald’s death, Chicago citizens have been protesting and holding rallies, reaching a fever-pitch after the release of the video.
Public knowledge regarding the circumstances of McDonald’s death was murky at best, until a journalist filed a freedom of information request, followed by a lawsuit regarding the video. The public had been demanding access to the video as early as December 2014, but the footage was only recently released.
Chicago police stated that they were reluctant to release video evidence during an ongoing investigation, in fear of leading witnesses to corroborate their story with what others perceived in the video. Many critics believe that the department’s reluctance to release the video, the length of time it took for the public to access it, and the length of time it took for the Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez to charge officer Van Dyke with first-degree murder, all point to a city-wide cover up.
Despite the backlash and the indictment, the police department’s attorneys insist that McDonald’s case is not murder. However, since the release of the video, prosecutors and the public alike have been quick to point out that the police reports on McDonald’s shooting are at odds with the video evidence.
In the hundreds of pages newly released to the public, some officers described McDonald as aggressively approaching Officer Van Dyke, waving the knife and ignoring orders to drop the weapon. One officer said that McDonald was attacking the officers and, according to his statement, “attempting to kill them.”
Included in the report are quotations from Van Dyke saying that, from his training, he was aware that assailants could throw knives at officers. Also included was a bulletin from the Chicago Police Department warning officers of a knife capable of firing bullets.
As lawyers for McDonald’s mother began looking at the case in late 2014, they found several strange and puzzling contradictions. Some witnesses disagreed that McDonald had threateningly approached Van Dyke.
Workers at a nearby Burger King said the police arrived almost immediately after the shooting and began sifting through the computer that handles the restaurant’s surveillance system. Later, around 80 minutes of recorded surveillance footage—footage during the shooting—had mysteriously disappeared. A federal investigation is ongoing to look into all aspects of the case, including the missing surveillance footage.
Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy was fired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel following public outcry over the handling of the case. The Justice Department has long taken issue with the Chicago Police Department. The Justice Department will begin a far-ranging investigation into the patterns and practices of the Chicago Police Department.