On Wednesday, I filed suit against the Chicago Police Department because of its refusal to release the police car dashboard camera video that shows an officer fatally shooting Laquan McDonald on the city’s southwest side last fall. The 17-year-old was shot 16 times, according to an autopsy conducted by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The officer who pulled the trigger—his name hasn’t been released—has been assigned to paid desk duty.
He is not running.
He is not lunging.
He is walking.
Two Chicago Police officers jump out of a Tahoe with their guns drawn.
McDonald is still walking west toward the sidewalk with a full lane of traffic separating him from one of the officers.
When the officer begins shooting, the first shots spin McDonald around. The officer continues to fire from a distance of between 12 and 15 feet.
McDonald falls.
The only movement is the puffs of smoke coming from the teen’s torso and his head.
The police officer comes into view and kicks the knife out of the boy’s right hand.
That case was brought by Chicago civil rights journalist Jamie Kalven. After he prevailed, he and his lawyers helped the city craft a more thorough transparency policy in accordance with the court’s decision. Apparently the Chicago Police Department believes the Kalven ruling doesn’t apply in the case of the shooting of Laquan McDonald.
