Laquan McDonald Shooting News Update: Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke Indicted on Murder Charges
Disgraced Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke has been indicted on six accounts of first-degree murder stemming from the October 2014 shooting death of teenager Laquan McDonald.
The Chicago Tribune reports Van Dyke has also been hit with a formal charge of misconduct after shooting 16 times at the 17-year-old victim when video seems to show he posed no direct threat to the officer or any of the other lawmen who had surrounded him.
A Cook County judge ordered video of the shooting publicly released last month, setting off a groundswell of protest across the city and persistent calls for the ousters of Mayor Rahm Emmanuel and State's Attorney Anita Alvarez.
Then police commissioner Garry McCarthy has already been removed from his post and the Department of Justice has announced plans for a complete probe and examination of the department's policies and practices.
Van Dyke previously spent nearly a week in custody after being arrested on first-degree murder charges on Nov. 30, but has since been released on $1.5 million bond. The indictment against the 37-year-old veteran officer marks the first time a Chicago police officer has been charged with first-degree murder for an on-duty fatality in nearly 35 years.
Reports are the indictment alleges that Van Dyke acted "without lawful justification" in shooting McDonald at a time when he understood his actions "created a strong probability of death or great bodily harm."
During his bond hearing last month, prosecutors told the judge Van Dyke opened fire just six seconds after exiting his police vehicle as McDonald was holding a knife in the middle of 41st Street and Pulaski Road shortly before 10 p.m.
In all, the barrage of bullets lasted about 14 seconds and Van Dyke is reported to have been reloading his weapon when another officer told him to hold his fire.
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!