Attorney for Chicago officer may seek change of venue

A group of retired black Chicago Police officers on Thursday called on the department to halt promotions and hiring until federal authorities complete an investigation launched after a video of the shooting death of black teenager Laquan McDonald was released.

The Chicago Tribune reports Van Dyke has also been hit with a formal charge of misconduct after shooting 16 times at the 17-year-old victim when video seems to show he posed no direct threat to the officer or any of the other lawmen who had surrounded him.

“The team will meet with a broad cross section of community members, city officials, and law enforcement command staff and officers to both explain our process and to hear from anyone who wishes to share information relevant to this investigation”, said Lynch, who is America’s first Black woman attorney general.

Reports are the indictment alleges that Van Dyke acted “without lawful justification” in shooting McDonald at a time when he understood his actions “created a strong probability of death or great bodily harm”.

At the hearing, prosecutors are expected to read the full indictment that was handed down Tuesday. He says Van Dyke will attend. A formal arraignment likely will be held later, after he is assigned a trial judge. A Baltimore jury on Wednesday failed to reach a verdict on one of the six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray, resulting in a mistrial.

The walk out will take place at 3:16 p.m. The time was chosen to represent the protesters’ goals of removing three people from office: Police Superintendent McCarthy (who was sacked by Emanuel two weeks ago), Emanuel and Alvarez, and the 16 shots that killed Laquan McDonald.

The mayor’s support for the broader federal investigation into his Police Department is a turnabout after Emanuel earlier this month called such a probe “misguided”.

The release of those images triggered protests, forced the resignation of the city’s police chief and put the entire Police Department under a wide-ranging civil rights investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. The phone number is 844-401-3735.

Community outreach is a key feature of the probe. The agency said last week that it would look at the police department’s use of force as well as accountability systems.

Stay on topic – This helps keep the thread focused on the discussion at hand.

Be Civil – It’s OK to have a difference in opinion but there’s no need to be a jerk.