CHICAGO (AP) — A white Chicago police officer has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting a black teenager.
Charges announced Tuesday come as the city prepares to release a squad-car video of Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times on Oct. 20, 2014.
The state's attorney's office said in a news release that Van Dyke has been charged with first degree murder.
People who have seen the video say it shows McDonald armed with a small knife and walking away from officers. Van Dyke opens fire from about 15 feet and keeps shooting after the teen falls to the ground.
An autopsy says he was shot at least twice in the back.
Some worry the images could lead to unrest as in Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri, after police-involved deaths.
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9:15 a.m.
A white Chicago police officer who shot a black teenager 16 times has turned himself in at the Cook County courthouse where he's expected to face a murder charge.
Trailed by reporters and photographers, Officer Jason Van Dyke walked into the courthouse Tuesday morning.
An official close to the investigation told The Associated Press' Don Babwin that county prosecutors are expected tocharge him with murder on Tuesday.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to pre-empt the expected charges.
The Oct. 20, 2014, shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was captured on a squad car's dashcam, and a judge has given the city until the end of Wednesday to release it publicly.
Several people who have seen the video say it shows McDonald armed with a small knife and walking away from several officers. An autopsy report says he was shot at least twice in his back.
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