Murder of Laquan McDonald
The murder of Laquan McDonald took place on October 20, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois. McDonald was a 17-year-old who was fatally shot by a Chicago Police Officer, Jason Van Dyke. Police had initially reported that McDonald was behaving erratically while walking down the street, refusing to put down a knife, and that he had lunged at officers. Preliminary internal police reports described the incident similarly, leading to the shooting being judged as justifiable, and Van Dyke not being charged at the time. This was later disproved after a video of the encounter was released, showing that McDonald was walking away.
Laquan McDonald
Diagram from McDonald's autopsy report
Protest on November 24, 2015, Michigan Ave., in response to recent video footage showing 17-year old Laquan McDonald being shot and killed by a Chicago police officer
Protest on December 9, 2015
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Chicago City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind the New York City Police Department. As of 2022 CPD had 11,710 sworn officers on duty, and in 2020 had over 948 other employees. Tracing its roots to 1835, the Chicago Police Department is one of the oldest modern police departments in the world.
Chicago police officer
CPD Detective Alice Clement 1915
Chicago Police in the rain in 1973 on Michigan Avenue
Chicago Police officer in 1973 inquiring about a traffic accident