Officer Jason Van Dyke Faces Judge Friday for First Time After Indictment

On Tuesday, a grand jury formally indicted Van Dyke on six counts of first-degree murder and one count of official misconduct.

An attorney for a Chicago police officer charged with first-degree murder for the shooting death of a black teen says he will seek a change of venue.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he is energized to finally fix a police problem that has been decades in the making. Van Dyke was charged with murder on the day the video was released.

Emanuel, a Democrat with strong White House ties who was elected to a second term this year, and State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez have been the target of protests because of the year-long delay in bringing charges against the officer in the video, Jason Van Dyke, who faces trial for murder.

The case has created a firestorm after the release last month of a dash-cam video showing Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times within seconds of stepping out of his police vehicle as the black teen moved away from the white officer. 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. Within the next few weeks, an arraignment will be scheduled.

The federal civil rights investigation is gathering steam just as the justice system is doing so against police officer Jason Van Dyke.

Herbert has said Van Dyke feared for his life and the lives of his fellow officers, and the video of the incident doesn’t tell the whole story.

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the embattled Chicago Police Department.

“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. The phone number is 844-401-3735.

The DOJ will look into the police department’s use of force, police accountability and other matters.

Emanuel initially characterized calls for a civil rights investigation as “misguided”, on top of the federal probe already being conducted into the McDonald case, but later pledged the city’s full cooperation.