Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke Pleads Not Guilty in Laquan McDonald Killing
Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke has formally pleaded not guilty in the 2014 killing of teenager Laquan McDonald.
The Associated Press reports Van Dyke appeared in the Cook County Criminal courtroom of Judge Vincent Gaughan on Tuesday, where he entered his not guilty plea on all six counts of first-degree murder. The judge later set his next scheduled court appearance for Jan. 29, 2016.
On the night in question, dash-cam video shows Van Dyke opened fire on the teen as he walked away from officers who had surrounded him in the middle of a busy intersection. In all, McDonald was struck 16 times, sparking outrage and protest across the city, after a judge ordered city officials to publicly release the video several weeks ago.
Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy has since been relieved of his duties, and calls for the resignations of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and State's Attorney Anita Alvarez only appear to be growing louder.
In addition, the U.S. Justice Department has announced plans for an extensive probe of the CPD, which will mostly focus on the department's practices and policies.
Just last week a 19-year-old college student and a 55-year-old mother of five were both gunned down at their homes after police were called to help calm a domestic dispute report, according to NBC.
Police claim when they arrived they found the teen to be "combative," but have admitted the woman was accidentally shot in the ensuing mayhem. The department has not revealed how many officers fired their weapons or what the two victims were doing when the deadly gunfire erupted.
Mayor Emanuel is reported to have been on family vacation in Cuba at the time of the latest shooting, but is now rumored to have cut his travels short with plans to return to the city sometime Tuesday evening.