US cop pleads not guilty to murder of black teen
A white police officer has pleaded not guilty to killing an African American teen in 2014.
Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke pleaded not guilty at the court on Tuesday to murdering 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, shot 16 times on October 20, 2014.
A dashcam video of the incident released last month showed Van Dyke shooting Laquan (pictured above). Cops who had surrounded the teenager, armed with a knife, opened fire on him after he veered away from vehicles on Pulaski Road.
The video caused outrage among Black Lives Matter activists, who took to streets to protest for several days.
Cold-blooded killer
Dan Herbert, Van Dyke's defense attorney, told AP that his client would not like to be viewed "as this cold-blooded killer."
He added that the officer is "hanging in there" and needs to recount his version of the incident.
Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder hours after the dashcam video was released on November 24.
The footage shows him shooting the black boy from some four meters away as he is walking away.
Angry protesters called for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other city officials to step down.
Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy was fired by the mayor subsequently.
The officer’s next hearing was set for January 29 as a federal investigation of Chicago Police Department was underway over how officer misconduct is handled there.
Meanwhile, Chicago cops killed two other people over the weekend, a 55-year-old woman shot accidentally and a "combative" 19-year-old boy.
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