CHICAGO — (Scroll down for video) — Laquan McDonald of the 500 block of North Springfield was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead after being shot by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
McDonald was armed with a knife and slowly walked away from police as he was demanded to drop it by officers. He was shot 16 times.
Dash cam footage of the incident shows that McDonald was on the ground for 13 of the 14 to 15 seconds that Van Dyke was shooting, prosecutors said today.
The FBI opened an investigation in his death, and the city of Chicago plans to pay McDonald’s family $5 million in a wrongful death lawsuit.
A court has ordered the city to release dashcam footage of the shooting and an officer is charged with first-degree murder in this case.
A prosecutor at Van Dyke’s hearing described the footage, detailing how Van Dyke started shooting 6 seconds after getting out of his squad car. He fired 16 shots in the span of 14 to 15 seconds, the prosecutor said, noting that the video shows that McDonald never made a move toward Van Dyke, but Van Dyke did take at least one step toward McDonald, who was armed with a knife with a 3-inch blade.
After the video was released, a small group of protesters took to the streets on Roosevelt Road.
Video of Officer-Involved Shooting:
LIVESTREAM:
