Tiger1
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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...chicago-paid-5-million-to-keep-it-hidden.html
CHICAGO — A judge has ruled that police must release dashcam video showing the violent death of 17-year-old old Laquan McDonald, shot 16 times by officer Jason Van Dyke last October.
Judge Franklin Valderrama ruled the video must be released on Wednesday, Nov. 25 and denied a motion from the city to appeal the decision, securing the video's release.
The video reportedly shows McDonald carrying a knife on the southwest side of the city on Oct. 20 last year, walking as far as the width of two car lanes away from police before an officer shoots him 16 times.
If the streets explode, it will be hard for even the most skeptical observer to say it is anything but justified: McDonald never posed a serious threat to officers. Despite his erratic actions that included puncturing a squad car’s tire while high on PCP, the teen was clearly walking away as the fatal shots were fired.
That night, a Fraternal Order of Police spokesman told reporters what had happened in the eyes of the officers he represents in the union.
McDonald threatened the officers, said Pat Camden, the FOP rep. The officers were in fear for their lives, this former spokesman for the Chicago Police Department asserted. Jason Van Dyke, the officer identified as the killer by the Chicago Tribune, “discharged his weapon, striking the offender.”
Such is the language of all police shootings—until an autopsy occurs, or an eyewitness comes forward, or video evidence contradicts an officer’s statement.
“The story has 24 hours and it’s basically told by the police union, and the police union’s role is to defend its members,” says Jamie Kalven, a Chicago journalist who runs the Invisible Institute, a police-accountability nonprofit.
In a July interview with The Daily Beast, Kalven stressed the importance of independent autopsies—especially in cases like McDonald’s.
“I have not seen the video,” said Davis, the veteran cop, IPRA whistleblower, and police-accountability advocate. “But I’ve talked to people who have seen it, and they were horrified by what they saw.
“Grown men were brought to tears.”
CHICAGO — A judge has ruled that police must release dashcam video showing the violent death of 17-year-old old Laquan McDonald, shot 16 times by officer Jason Van Dyke last October.
Judge Franklin Valderrama ruled the video must be released on Wednesday, Nov. 25 and denied a motion from the city to appeal the decision, securing the video's release.
The video reportedly shows McDonald carrying a knife on the southwest side of the city on Oct. 20 last year, walking as far as the width of two car lanes away from police before an officer shoots him 16 times.
If the streets explode, it will be hard for even the most skeptical observer to say it is anything but justified: McDonald never posed a serious threat to officers. Despite his erratic actions that included puncturing a squad car’s tire while high on PCP, the teen was clearly walking away as the fatal shots were fired.
That night, a Fraternal Order of Police spokesman told reporters what had happened in the eyes of the officers he represents in the union.
McDonald threatened the officers, said Pat Camden, the FOP rep. The officers were in fear for their lives, this former spokesman for the Chicago Police Department asserted. Jason Van Dyke, the officer identified as the killer by the Chicago Tribune, “discharged his weapon, striking the offender.”
Such is the language of all police shootings—until an autopsy occurs, or an eyewitness comes forward, or video evidence contradicts an officer’s statement.
“The story has 24 hours and it’s basically told by the police union, and the police union’s role is to defend its members,” says Jamie Kalven, a Chicago journalist who runs the Invisible Institute, a police-accountability nonprofit.
In a July interview with The Daily Beast, Kalven stressed the importance of independent autopsies—especially in cases like McDonald’s.
“I have not seen the video,” said Davis, the veteran cop, IPRA whistleblower, and police-accountability advocate. “But I’ve talked to people who have seen it, and they were horrified by what they saw.
“Grown men were brought to tears.”
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