CHICAGO (AP) — Prosecutors on Monday showed jurors video of a white Chicago police officer opening fire on black teenager Laquan McDonald, saying the fatal shooting was “completely unnecessary.”
Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke walks toward the judge’s bench during a hearing for the 2014 killing of Laquan McDonald at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, Friday, Sept. 14, 2018, in Chicago. Attorneys for Van Dyke, who is charged with murder in the 2014 fatal shooting, announced Friday that they will stick with a jury for the trial rather than have a judge decide the case. (Antonio Perez /Chicago Tribune via AP)
The video shows Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times as the 17-year-old, carrying a small knife in one hand, walks away from officers.
Special prosecutor Joseph McMahon told jurors that “not a single shot was necessary or justified” before showing them the video 15 minutes into his opening statement.
McMahon said Van Dyke opened fire just six seconds after getting out of his squad car, not knowing anything about McDonald’s background.
“What he did see was a black boy walking down a street with a chain link fence with the audacity to ignore the police,” McMahon said.
Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and aggravated battery.
Defense attorney Daniel Herbert told jurors that Van Dyke was “a scared police officer who was fearful for his life and the life of others and acted as he was trained to do.”
He said McDonald had tried to attack a truck driver with his knife. “Laquan McDonald was on a wild rampage through the city” that the shooting ended, Herbert said.
He and McMahon both noted McDonald had PCP in his system.
By DON BABWIN
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