Video of shooting on repeat at Chicago cop's murder trial
CHICAGO (AP) — The last moments of Laquan McDonald's life played over and over again for the jury. An officer pulls up, gets out of a squad car and opens fire as the black teenager walks away from police, a small knife in one hand. McDonald crumples to the ground. More bullets are fired into his body — a total of 16.
The video of the Oct. 20, 2014, shooting is so central to the murder trial of white Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke that jurors watched it at least five times during the first day of testimony Monday — the first time just 15 minutes into opening statements. Its release more than a year after the shooting sparked large protests, the ouster of the city's police superintendent and demands for police reform.