Chicago officer charged in 2014 fatal shooting pleads not guilty

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has been the target of heavy criticism and calls for his resignation since the McDonald video was released, is due to return Tuesday afternoon from a family vacation in Cuba. The teen did not comply with “numerous police orders to drop the knife”, the officer’s lawyer, Daniel Herbert, told the Chicago Tribune, when…

A white Chicago police officer charged with murder in the 2014 fatal shooting of a black teenager pleaded not guilty Tuesday.

Protests over the shooting of Laquan McDonald led to the resignation of Chicago’s police chief and a U.S. Department of Justice probe into whether the department use lethal force too often, especially against minorities. As Van Dyke left Cook County courthouse on December 18, several groups of people shouted profanities and pounded on the black pickup truck he was riding in before it pulled away with officer Van Dyke inside.

Van Dyke, who is white, entered the plea in court a month after the charges against him were announced in the killing of McDonald, who was black.

The Chicago police officer charged in the fatal shooting death of Laquan McDonald pleaded not guilty to all charges Tuesday.

The mayor then described a new task force on law enforcement accountability that will review how the city trains and oversees its police officers.

A vigil has been held at a high school for a 19-year-old fatally shot over the weekend by Chicago police along with a 55-year-old downstairs neighbor. Reverend Al Sharpton is among those calling for President Obama’s long-time friend to resign. Police said Jones was killed by accident during the altercation with LeGrier.

Jason Van Dyke is “hanging in there” and wants to tell his side of what happened so he’s not seen “as this cold-blooded killer”, defense attorney Dan Herbert said after the court hearing.

The case has been widely publicized, with even Mayor Rahm Emanuel blasting the Chicago officer.

He faces six counts of first-degree murder and one count of official misconduct in the October 2014 shooting that was captured on police dashboard camera video. There appear to have been no criminal proceedings against Van Dyke before he was charged in McDonald’s death, but a jury did award a Chicago man $350,000 after determining Van Dyke employed excessive force during a traffic stop.

The department is now the subject of a federal investigation. “In Cook County it hasn’t been done in decades”, Herbert said.

Officer Jason Van Dyke, who is white, was indicted with six counts of first degree murder in the death of the 17-year-old, who is black.

Also Tuesday morning, Van Dyke learned the name of the judge who will preside over his case.