President Barack Obama on Wednesday said he was "deeply disturbed" by police video showing a white Chicago cop fatally shooting a black teenager, but praised the "overwhelming majority" of officers for their service.
Obama, in his first public comments about the video showing Laquan McDonald, 17, being shot 16 times, said in a Facebook post that he was grateful for the peaceful way Chicago residents have protested police actions since Tuesday's release of the footage.
Chicago officials released the video in response to a judge's order. Earlier on Tuesday, officials announced a first-degree murder charge against Officer Jason Van Dyke, who shot McDonald.
Police and union officials had claimed that Van Dyke fired in self-defense after McDonald lunged at officers with a knife. The video shows Van Dyke opened fire as McDonald backed away from officers.
Hundreds of people marched around Chicago on Tuesday to protest the killing. The protests were largely peaceful, with police making five arrests for offenses that included resisting arrest and assaulting an officer.
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