Justice Department will investigate Chicago police after shocking video of

Van Dyke was drawing a paycheck the whole time.

The reports, released by the city late Friday, show that Officer Jason Van Dyke and at least five other officers said McDonald moved or turned threateningly toward officers, even though the video of the October 2014 shooting shows the 17-year-old walking away.

The video, which the city kept from the public for more than a year, shows McDonald veering away from officers on a four-lane street when Van Dyke, seconds after exiting his squad vehicle, opens fire from close range.

But several officers, including Van Dyke, who is now charged with first degree murder, filed official reports after the incident describing McDonald as aggressively approaching officers while armed with a knife, according to reports released late Friday. Officer Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder.

According to the Washington Post, the Justice Department will conduct an investigation similar to the ones it launched in similar cases in Baltimore and Ferguson.

Van Dyke’s partner, Joseph Walsh, said in the report that McDonald got within 12 to 15 feet of his partner and swung the knife before he was shot. “In defense of his life, VD backpedaled + fired”.

Van Dyke told an investigator that he feared that McDonald would rush him with the knife or throw it at him.

The federal probe could be announced early this week, although neither the Chicago Police Department nor the Justice Department would confirm it on Sunday. Some reports are in police shorthand.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel strongly denies accusations that he publicly withheld the videotape of Laquan McDonald’s shooting death at the hands of a Chicago Police officer, because of the election. The U.S. attorney’s office is investigating the issue, and a number of officials have called for a broader intervention by the U.S. Justice Department.

Acting Superintendent John Escalante told CBS Chicago Friday that he understood why people were upset over the shooting.

Madigan said an investigation by the U.S. DOJ Civil Rights Division “is necessary and appropriate, given its experience investigating the practices of police departments across the country and based on its experience prosecuting former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge”. Garry McCarthy and demands for the resignation of Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez have grown.

In particular, the sources said, federal prosecutors are investigating the officers who made statements as well as the officers who prepared the reports of the statements.

Chicago officials fought in court for months to keep the McDonald video from being released.

Mayor Emanuel added that had he seen the video before its release, he might have broken protocol and called for it to come out sooner.

Another contradiction that emerged with the release of the reports is whether McDonald’s knife was folded when officers recovered it at the scene.