http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/11/24/chicago-cop-charged-shooting-black-teen-16-times/76303768/Aamer Madhani, USA TODAY 11:34 a.m. EST November 24, 2015
CHICAGO—A white Chicago police officer who fatally shot a black teenager 16 times last year charged Tuesday with first-degree murder, the Cook County State's Attorney's office said.
Officer Jason Van Dyke arrived at the Cook County criminal courthouse on Tuesday morning with his lawyer by his side to turn himself in, and ignored questions shouted to him by reporters who awaited his arrival.
The Cook County State's Attorney's office said Van Dyke repeatedly shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald after the young man had an encounter with police officers on Oct. 20, 2014. Van Dyke is scheduled to appear for a bond hearing at midday.
"One individual needs to be held accountable," Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel told reporters on Monday. "They need to be held accountable for what they've done."
The murder charges against Van Dyke come as the city faces a court-ordered deadline on Wednesday to release dashcam video from a police squad car that captured footage of Van Dyke shooting McDonald. The city had resisted releasing the video, citing federal and state probes into the incident. A Cook County Circuit Court judge, however, set the deadline after independent journalist Brandon Smith sued the city. Smith argued the city had violated state's open record law by failing to release the video.
Van Dyke's attorney Daniel Herbert said his client feared for his life after police answered a call about a young man who was acting erratically. A Chicago police union official also told reporters soon after the incident that McDonald, who had PCP in his system at the time of his death and was holding a knife with a four-inch blade, lunged at the officer
Michael Robbins, an attorney for McDonald's family, said the video shows that the teen was walking away from Van Dyke when he fired. Five other police officers at the scene did not fire a shot. In April, Chicago's city council approved a $5 million settlement for McDonald's family.
City officials expect a sharp reaction to the video's release, which comes as police treatment of African-American men has become hot-button issue nationally in the aftermath of high-profile incidents in New York, Ferguson, Mo., Baltimore, North Charleston, S.C., and elsewhere in the last 18 months.
Emanuel on Monday met with several pastors, community leaders and activists, to urge peaceful protests. In a separate move, Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy announced he would move to fire a police officer who was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year for the 2012 shooting death of Rekia Boyd.
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