After the firing of Chicago Police Chief Garry McCarthy, more shocking details emerge concerning the tragic shooting of Laquan McDonald.
On the night of the shooting, Pat Camden, Chicago Police Union Spokesperson gave a statement on what happened. According to Camden, McDonald lunged at Van Dyke causing him to defend himself and shoot McDonald once in the chest. That turned out to be false. An autopsy was done the day after the shooting, showing that of the 16 shots Van Dyke shot at McDonald, nine entered his back.
On April 15, six months after the shooting death of 17 year old, McDonald, Chicago City Alderman Howard B. Brookins Jr. was preparing to vote for the $5 million settlement to be awarded to the family of McDonald. During the meeting, Alderman Brookins was told by the Chicago corporation counsel that the dashboard video of the shooting could not be released because the FBI and and the U.S. Attorney were investigating the shooting, but the video is horrific.
Without viewing the video, Brookins voted for the $5 million settlement that was settled before the family of McDonald filed a lawsuit. 13 months after the shooting, Brookins feels that he and other council members were misled into voting for the settlement without viewing the tape.
On Tuesday, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel says the reason the video was not released sooner was because of fear of federal and state investigation in the shooting of McDonald. After shooting and killing McDonald, Officer Jason Van Dyke was still employed by the Chicago police department on paid desk duty. A year after the shooting, Van Dyke was charged with murder and later fired.
