Dash-cam video of the October 2014 shooting of a 17-year-old black teen by a white police officer in Chicago was released Tuesday, a day ahead of time.
Laquan McDonald, 17, was shot 16 times on Oct. 20, 2014. Police dash cam video of the shooting, which is graphic, was used by prosecutors to determine charges against the officer.
Officer Jason Van Dyke was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in McDonald’s death.
Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez said the release of the video did not influence her decision to bring charges, but she did move up her timeline after a judge decided to release the video to the public. Alvarez said she decided weeks ago to bring first-degree murder charges but held off while she awaited results from a federal investigation.
Alvarez described the video after Van Dyke was arraigned Tuesday.
"At 9:57:36, McDonald has crossed over the white lane divider away from the officers, and Officer Van Dyke has taken at least one step towards McDonald with his weapon drawn. The officer then opened fire on Laquan, whose arm jerks, his body spins around and he falls to the ground. While Laquan is falling to the ground the defendant takes at least one more step towards him, at which point the angle of the dash camera changes and we can no longer see the officer in the frame of the video. Two seconds later, Laquan McDonald is lying on the street on his right side, and the video captures what appears to be two puffs of smoke coming from the ground near his body. These puffs of smoke were later identified as clouds of debris caused by the fired bullets. At 9:57:51, McDonald is still lying on the street and the last visible shot is fired."
Chicago police were on full alert in anticipation of the video's release Tuesday night.
