Special prosecutor named for Laquan McDonald murder case
Britta Lee, Regional Content Editor
Chicago police investigate a police-involved fatal shooting in the 7300 block of South Merrill Avenue in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood on Friday, July 29, 2016. Chicago police say they shot and killed an 18-year-old man who was in a stolen Jaguar that sideswiped a squad car and hit a parked car, injuring some officers, Thursday evening. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune via AP)
CHICAGO (AP) — A judge appointed a suburban Chicago state’s attorney to handle the murder case against the Chicago police officer who shot Black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times, video of which led to large protests and the eventual ouster of the city’s police superintendent.
At a hearing, Cook County Circuit Judge Vincent Gaughan swore-in Kane County State’s Attorney Joseph McMahon to handle the prosecution of Officer Jason Van Dyke. Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder last year in the 2014 killing of McDonald just hours before authorities released the police dashcam video showing him repeatedly shooting the teenager. LaQuan McDonald (Courtesy Photo)
The appointment comes weeks after outgoing Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez requested that a special prosecutor handle the politically charged case.
The city resisted releasing the dashcam video of the shooting for more than a year and did so only after a court ordered it to do so. Once released, the video sparked large protests and helped force the ouster of Chicago’s last police superintendent, Garry McCarthy.
Earlier Thursday, the Chicago Police Department said it would release videos related to a fatal police shooting last week of an 18-year-old suspect, Paul O’Neal.
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the videos will be available online at 11 a.m. Friday on the website of the city agency that investigates police misconduct.
The department’s current superintendent, Eddie Johnson, relieved three officers of their police powers after the July 28 shooting after officials said a preliminary determination concluded they had violated department policy.
Earlier this week, the department said it was investigating after it was found that the body camera of an officer involved in the shooting wasn’t recording at the time.
Autopsy results show that O’Neal, of Chicago, died of a gunshot wound to the back during a stolen vehicle investigation.
