A Cook County judge has ordered city officials to release a video that allegedly shows a white Chicago police officer named Jason Van Dyke fatally shooting a black 17-year-old named Laquan McDonald 16 times. The judge ordered the video of the incident, which took place on Oct. 20, 2014, be released by Nov. 25.
The judge ruled that the video would likely not jeopardize the ongoing investigation into the shooting, as the city had argued. Now some Chicago media outlets report that Van Dyke may be criminally charged as early as Tuesday, though it's unclear what those charges will be.
The video, according to those who have seen it, is wrenching and, in the days before it is released, officials are urging for calm.
During the incident, officers had kept a knife-wielding and allegedly erratic McDonald away from pedestrians as he wandered from a trucking yard to a Burger King and beyond, according to the Chicago Tribune. The teenager had allegedly tried to break into cars.
As police waited on more officers to arrive, Van Dyke drove up with another officer and fired a volley of shots into McDonald, many of them as McDonald was on the ground, according to local reports.
"Police officers are entrusted to uphold the law, and to provide safety to our residents," Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office said in a statement. "In this case unfortunately, it appears an officer violated that trust at every level."
Van Dyke still works for the Chicago Police Department, though in a more limited capacity.
Police union officials said McDonald lunged at Van Dyke, though others say the video disputes that account.
The city of Chicago has agreed to give McDonald's family $5 million even though his family hadn't filed a lawsuit, according to local reports.