Murder charges filed against Chicago policeman who prosecutors say fired 16 shots at black teen reportedly walking away from him

Reuters,Christina Sterbenz

Nov 25, 2015, 01:45 IST

CNN

Still from a CNN report on the shooting of Laquan McDonald.

A white Chicago police officer was charged on Tuesday with first-degree murder in the October 2014 fatal shooting of a black teenager, State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said in a statement.

The officer, Jason Van Dyke, was being processed at Chicago's main criminal courthouse and appeared at a bond hearing early Tuesday afternoon.

Judge Donald Panarese Jr. ordered Van Dyke held without bail until the judge can view dashcam video of the incident, the Chicago Tribune reported.

On Wednesday, the city will release the dashboard camera video that it says shows the officer shooting and killing Laquan McDonald, who was 17.

Van Dyke fired 16 rounds at McDonald in 14 seconds, just six seconds after exiting his squad car, Cook County prosecutors said in court, according to the Chicago Tribune. McDonald was reportedly walking away from Van Dyke, and his autopsy showed two shots in the back, among 14 other entrace wounds.

(Cook County Medical Examiner via AP)

This undated autopsy diagram provided by the Cook County Medical Examiner's office shows the location of wounds on the body of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald who was shot by a Chicago Police officer 16 times in 2014. A judge on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015 ordered the city to release squad car dashcam video of the shooting. The officer has been stripped of his police powers, but remains at work on desk duty.

Van Dyke has said through his lawyer and the police union that he felt under threat from McDonald.

Fiona Ortiz contributed Reuters' reporting of this story.

Editor's note: This story was posted at 11:51 a.m. est and updated at 3:15 p.m. est.