Jason Van Dyke Court Hearing Scheduled Amid Chicago Protests

The Justice Department said it plans to investigation allegations of misconduct concerning the Chicago Police Department’s policies in the wake of the fallout from the video’s release, and protesters have called for Mayor Rahm Emanuel and State Attorney Anita Alvarez to be taken from office as well.

“That’s an important day because we will be assigned a judge and from there we get into trial preparation”, said Van Dyke’s attorney Dan Herbert.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel initially resisted the idea of a federal civil rights investigation, calling it “misguided”.

A throng of news cameras and angry screams greeted Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke Friday after he appeared for a brief court hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courts building.

Van Dyke has been free on $1.5 million bail since November 30 after spending six nights in Cook County Jail.

It was shortly before the video’s release that prosecutors charged Van Dyke with murder. Within the next few weeks, an arraignment will be scheduled.

MURDER/STRONG PROB KILL/INJURE WITH FIREARM: Van Dyke shot and killed McDonald without legal justification and while armed with a firearm, knowing that such an act created a strong probability of death or great bodily harm to Laquan.

Last month, Van Dyke was charged with a single count of first degree murder, as the Chicago Tribune reported.

Herbert told reporters he wants the trial moved to a county “outside the reach” of Mayor Emanuel’s comments. Prosecutors say Van Dyke shot McDonald 16 times as the teen walked away from police carrying a small knife.

Protests were planned leading up to Van Dyke’s Friday hearing, as well, one of which was targeting travelers at Chicago’s Midway Airport, making holiday travel a bit more hard.

Shocking crimes from powerful people also dominated the news, including guilty pleas from former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and former CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett.

“I think that it sends exactly the wrong message to the people of the city of Chicago, once again as this entire case has from the beginning to the present”, Flint Taylor, a longtime civil rights attorney, told Fox 32.