The white Chicago police officer who shot a black teen 16 times in a fatal encounter that was caught on video has been charged with first-degree murder, multiple sources report.
According to Reuters, local newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times, are both reporting that murder charges were filed Tuesday against Officer Jason Van Dyke, who has been on administrative duty while state and federal prosecutors investigate the shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
Van Dyke turned himself in Tuesday morning and will be processed and fingerprinted before his noon bond hearing.
A video of the fatal October 2014 encounter is expected to be released Wednesday, with community leaders who met with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel saying that they expect protests to follow. The release of the footage, which the police union is against, is the result of a judicial order from a lawsuit brought on by a freelance journalist, Reuters notes. The video will be evidence if Van Dyke is charged.
Police claim that Laquan threatened officers with a knife and slashed at the tires and windshield of a patrol car. However, a lawyer for his mother who has seen the video says that the teen was seen moving away from police when he was shot.
Laquan's family received a $5 million civil settlement from the city in the aftermath.
Read more at Reuters.