News / Society

FBI won’t release video of police shooting of black teenager

Thursday, 16 April 2015 7:06 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 16 April 2015 7:05 AM ]

Laquan McDonald was fatally shot by police in October 2014.

The FBI and Chicago police department are refusing to release a video of the shooting death of a 17-year-old black man, who was killed by a police officer last year.

Chicago police and the FBI are withholding the dash-cam video because it is "central to their investigation," Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was quoted as saying by the Associated Press on Wednesday.

Authorities said they were "confident this video will be released at the appropriate time when their investigation is complete."

Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times in October 2014 when he allegedly brandished a knife and refused to drop it when confronted by officers. The city has approved a $5 million settlement with the teen’s family.

Some members of the Chicago City Council fear releasing the video could spark the kind of angry protests seen elsewhere in the United States in recent months.

“Regaining the trust of the community, particularly the black community, starts with honesty and hiding a potential execution is the kind of thing that destroys trust," said Craig Futterman, a law professor at the University of Chicago.

The shooting has not generated the same kind of national attention as other recent high-profile confrontations involving officers. The Chicago police department has long been dogged by a reputation for police brutality.

The officer who killed McDonald is not being named but he has been stripped of his police powers and put on desk duty. No decision has been made on whether he will face criminal charges in the case.

Several videos showing police brutality have been released in recent weeks. A newly released video shows a police officer in Arizona intentionally running over an armed suspect with his vehicle last month.

Police Officer Michael Rapiejko slammed his car into 36-year-old Mario Valencia which was recorded in the dashboard camera that was released on Tuesday. Valencia was taken to a hospital in serious condition but released two days later into police custody.

Another cell phone video was released last week showing an officer in North Charleston, South Carolina firing multiple times at an African-American man as he ran away, sparking outrage around the country.

AHT/AGB

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