$1.5 Million Bail for Cop Charged in Laquan McDonald Murder

Van Dyke is charged with first-degree murder, and his bond was set for $1.5 million on Monday.

Members of the NAACP South Side and West Side chapters held a press conference last week announcing the protest and asking for a formal investigation into Chicago’s Independent Police Review Authority following the release of the dash-cam video showing the fatal shooting of 17-year-old McDonald.

Van Dyke is the first Chicago cop to be charged with murder for an on-duty shooting in more than 30 years. When Van Dyke was arraigned last week he was ordered held in jail on no bond, meaning his family would not be able to pay the 10 percent of his bond amount required the county to release him.

Herbert says Van Dyke is “very scared about the consequences he is facing”. The Chicago lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police is also paying for Van Dyke’s defense, a common practice among police unions in the United States.

A suspect was arrested Monday in connection with an online threat of gun violence at the University of Chicago that prompted the school to cancel all classes and activities.

Van Dyke, 37, wearing a brown Department of Corrections jumpsuit with his hands and ankles shackled, showed no expression at word of the bond.

In the wake of the McDonald shooting, officials announced that additional numbers of Chicago Police will start wearing body cameras. They promise the street protests will continue. Chicago police initially said that McDonald was high on the hallucinogen PCP, acting erratically, and that he lunged at officers with a knife when he was shot 16 times in October 2014.

Dean, who is black, was arrested Monday morning.

In the audio-free video, McDonald can be seen walking down the middle of a four-lane street. One of the officers, Van Dyke, opens fire from close range. Alderman Howard Brookins said the council, which signed off on a $5 million city settlement with McDonald’s family even before a lawsuit was filed, was misled about the contents of the video. Herbert said the video does not tell the entire story and does not show what his client was thinking when he got out of his police vehicle and fired his weapon. As the mayor urged prosecutors Monday to end their investigation, he met with community leaders and aldermen to defend his handling of the controversy amid criticism that City Hall hasn’t done enough to address police misconduct.