Lawyer for Chicago officer plans to hunt change of venue

Van Dyke was indicted earler in the week on six counts of first-degree murder and one count of official misconduct for fatally shooting McDonald.

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

An attorney for a white Chicago policeman charged with murder in the shooting death of a black teenager said Friday he will seek a change of venue, arguing that comments Mayor Rahm Emanuel made jeopardize his client’s chances of a fair trial. He says Van Dyke will attend.

Meanwhile, Van Dyke’s defense attorney, Daniel Herbert, had his own reasons for why he may explore the option for a change of venue for Van Dyke’s trial.

“We hold our police officers to a high standard and obviously in this case, Jason Van Dyke violated both the standards of professionalism that come with being a police officer but also basic moral standards that bind our community together”, Emanuel said. Within the next few weeks, an arraignment will be scheduled.

The brief hearing marked Van Dyke’s first public appearance since he posted the required 10 percent of a $1.5 million bond and was freed from Cook County Jail last month.

Laquan McDonald’s great-uncle, Marvin Hunter, says he wants the trial of Officer Jason Van Dyke outside of Cook County.

It was shortly before the video’s release that prosecutors charged Van Dyke with murder.

Attorneys for the McDonald family said the video depicts Officer Van Dyke firing 16 shots at Laquan as the teen backed away from the officer.

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.

Van Dyke’s lawyer has said the veteran officer feared for his life when he shot McDonald on a Southwest Side street in October 2014. In that instance, demonstrators planned to march to the airport, blocking traffic along the way. As CBS Chicago reported, when the mayor visited Urban Prep Charter Academy in Englewood, students repeatedly chanted “16 shots”, a common slogan used by protesters seeking the mayor’s resignation over the McDonald shooting.