Murder of Laquan McDonald

On the night of October 20, 2014, Chicago police responded to reports that Laquan McDonald, 17, was carrying a knife and breaking into vehicles near 41st Street and Kildare Avenue. When officers confronted him, McDonald damaged a patrol vehicle's tire and windshield with a knife and then walked away from officers despite verbal commands to drop the weapon. Officer Jason Van Dyke arrived on scene, exited his vehicle, and within about six seconds began firing. Video later showed McDonald was walking away from Van Dyke when the first shot struck him; McDonald spun and fell, and Van Dyke continued firing as he lay on the ground. In total, Van Dyke fired 16 shots in 14–15 seconds. No other officer at the scene discharged a weapon. McDonald was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and pronounced dead at 10:42 p.m. An autopsy found nine of the sixteen shots struck his back and ruled his death a homicide. Toxicology reports found PCP in his blood and urine.

Initial police reports described McDonald as "crazed" and stated he had lunged at officers, and internal review deemed the shooting justifiable; Van Dyke was not charged at the time. These accounts were contradicted after journalist Jamie Kalven and attorney Craig Futterman raised concerns following a whistleblower's account, and after freelance journalist Brandon Smith and activist William Calloway filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the dash-cam video. When the city denied the request, Smith sued, and on November 19, 2015, a Cook County judge ordered the video released. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan had informed police that they could not lawfully withhold it. The video was released on November 24, 2015—more than 13 months after the shooting. That same day, Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez announced that Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder. He was held without bail for six days before being released on $150,000 (10 percent of a $1.5 million bond).

The City of Chicago approved a $5 million settlement with McDonald's family in April 2015, before any lawsuit was filed and before the video's public release. Separately, three Chicago police officers—David March, Joseph Walsh, and Thomas Gaffney—were charged with conspiracy, official misconduct, and obstruction of justice over an alleged cover-up; a judge found them not guilty on January 17, 2019.

Van Dyke's trial began in September 2018. On October 5, 2018, a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, and acquitted him of official misconduct. He was sentenced on January 18, 2019, to 81 months in prison. He was released early in February 2022 after serving about 39 months, citing good behavior.

The case prompted sustained protests, a U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation into the Chicago Police Department (report issued January 2017), the firing of police superintendent Garry McCarthy, and the electoral defeat of State's Attorney Anita Alvarez in 2016. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who had won reelection before the video's release, faced calls for resignation but remained in office.