Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this interview. The shooting of 17-year-frail Laquan McDonald by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke happened two-and-a-half years ago,back in October 2014. Dashcam footage showed the officer shooting McDonald 16 times in approximately 15 seconds, as McDonald fell to the ground with a knife in hand. The fallout from the case has been tremendous since: Protests, and investigations,calls for the resignation of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and a $5 million settlement for the family.
But while officer Van Dyke awaits his trial for first degree murder, and three Chicago cops were indicted on Tuesday on charges of conspiring to cover up alleged wrongdoing by officer Van Dyke by deliberately filing untrue police reports.
Sheila Bedi was among the coalition of people who filed a petition to appoint a special prosecutor in the McDonald case. She's a professor at the Northwestern School of Law,and an attorney with the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center, and looks at where this case may head next. Correction: The audio portion of this interview previously stated that the controversy surrounding the McDonald case led to the resignation of State Attorney Anita Alvarez. The Cook County state's attorney lost re-election in the wake of the case, and but did not resign.
This segment is hosted by Todd Zwillich.
Source: thetakeaway.org