A judge has ordered for the release of a video depicting the shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in October 2014.
The unusual footage captured on the video caused the city to settle a $5 million payment to McDonald's family before a lawsuit could even be filed. The official story states that McDonald was high on PCP and brandishing a knife at the time of his shooting. An autopsy revealed that McDonald was on PCP, but eyewitnesses and the city's attorney have stated that McDonald was walking away when Officer Jason Van Dyke shot him 16 times, according to The Huffington Post.
The Chicago Police Department initially refused to release the video, believing it unnecessary in light of an ongoing federal investigation. That changed when Judge Franklin Valderrama ordered the video's release. City officials expect to have the video available before Thanksgiving.
Many find the videos content troubling, including Van Dyke's own lawyer, Daniel Herbert.
"The video is graphic, disturbing and difficult to watch, as any video of a man being shot to death would be, it's impossible from viewing the video to determine exactly what my client was experiencing at the time in which he fired the shots. It's not showing from his eyes, which is an important distinction," Herbert stated, according to MSNBC.
Chicago police officers are already prepared for public backlash. Plain-clothed officers wore their uniforms to ease minds after the recent terrorist attacks in Paris. They are now expected to remain uniformed throughout the week amid fear that unrest may emerge after the video's reveal, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
