After announcing that Officer Jason Van Dyke would be charged with first-degree murder earlier today, the CPD released the video at a press conference. At the press conference, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel said, “I understand that people will be upset and will want to protest when they see this video,” but urged them to be peaceful. (As Chris Hayes noted on Twitter, the press conference emphasized “the reaction *to* the video (which hasn’t happened yet) as opposed to what happened *on* the video.”)
The video itself is haunting and appears to confirm accounts of McDonald’s murder that have been circulating since his death in October of last year. The officer begins shooting seconds after arriving on the scene. At no point does McDonald do anything that seems immediately threatening. In fact, he seems to be walking away. The video, which contains very graphic violence, is below, starting about the 5:15 mark.