Chicago cop who fatally shot teen makes bail

Aamer Madhani | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Bond posted for Chicago officer facing murder charge The Chicago police officer charged with the murder of Laquan McDonald has posted bond. Police officer Jason Van Dyke appeared in Cook County court. where a judge set his bail at $1.5 million.

CHICAGO — A Chicago police officer facing a first-degree murder charge for shooting a teen 16 times was released from county jail Monday evening, hours after a judge set bond at $1.5 million.

Officer Jason Van Dyke had been in jail since Tuesday after prosecutors charged him with the Oct. 20, 2014, shooting of Laquan McDonald. Also on Tuesday, the city released dashcam video that shows the teen, who is black, being shot by Van Dyke, who is white.

Ben Breit, a Cook County sheriff's department spokesman, said late Monday afternoon that Van Dyke posted bail — 10% of the bail set by the judge, or $150,000 — and was released.

Protesters took to Chicago streets for several days after the video release and the announcement of the charges.

Lamon Reccord, an organizer of the protests, expressed frustration that Van Dyke was able to post bail.

"I think the protests were largely peaceful, because he was in jail," Reccord said at a prayer vigil in front of police department headquarters Monday evening. "There's going to be a lot of anger. I want it to be peaceful, but I worry there could now be damage."

Another protester, Jedidiah Brown, an activist from the city's South Side who is black, said that Van Dyke's release sends the wrong message to Chicago.

"When Van Dyke walked out, what that said to me is that my life doesn't matter to this mayor and this city," Brown said.

Judge Donald Panarese Jr. noted before setting the bail Monday that Van Dyke is presumed innocent.

Daniel Herbert, Van Dyke's attorney, argued that Van Dyke is no threat to the public and should be given a reasonable bond. The attorney expressed relief after the judge set bond.

Van Dyke appeared in court Tuesday for a bond hearing, but prosecutors did not present the judge with the dashcam video. Panarese ordered lawyers to return to court Monday afternoon, so he could decide on bail after viewing the video.

The video shows McDonald, who prosecutors say punctured a tire of a squad car prior to the shooting, veering away from police when Van Dyke shoots the teen. Van Dyke fired 13 of the shots while McDonald was on the ground, the video shows.

Raw: Dashcam video shows Chicago officer shooting teen Chicago police released a dashcam video Nov. 24, 2015, that shows the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was killed by an officer in October 2014. The officer, Jason Van Dyke, has been charged with first-degree murder.

The video is at odds with a narrative pushed by the department and police union that McDonald, who prosecutors said had PCP in his system and was holding a knife with a 3-inch blade, lunged at Van Dyke before he opened fire.

The shooting lasted about 15 seconds. Five other officers, who were dispatched to the scene after police received a 911 call that McDonald was brandishing a knife and had been breaking into cars, did not fire their weapons.

Dean Angelo, president of the Chicago police union, said after Monday's hearing that the union continues to stand by Van Dyke. He said that fellow officers have donated an undisclosed sum to a bail fund set up by Van Dyke's wife.

"I think (the video shows) Officer Van Dyke steps into training mode and takes action that we believe at that time was justified," Angelo said.

Herbert said his client feared for his life and was acting out of self-defense. He added that the video doesn't portray the full portrait of what led to the shooting and that his client would ultimately be vindicated when all the evidence is presented at trial.

"When you see the video alone, it does not seem like a justifiable shooting," Herbert said. "But there are certain things I know that quite frankly nobody else knows."

Meanwhile, Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez is facing mounting pressure to resign from her elected seat in the aftermath of the video's release. Alvarez has faced criticism that it took her office 13 months to file the murder charges against Van Dyke.

After announcing the charges against Van Dyke last week, Alvarez said her office was "meticulous" in putting together the case and was hoping to announce the charges jointly with federal prosecutors who were conducting a parallel investigation. She said she decided to move forward with the charge last week out of concern for public safety after a Cook County Circuit Court judge ordered the city to release the video after being sued by a journalist for violating open record laws.

Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia said Monday that he and a group of Latino leaders would call on Alvarez to step down. Garcia posed a strong challenge to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's re-election effort earlier this year, forcing the incumbent into the first mayoral runoff in city history. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., has also called for Alvarez, who faces a March 15 primary, to step down.

Kim Foxx, a former prosecutor and current chief of staff to the Cook County Board president, announced she will challenge Alvarez in the primary. Donna More, a former federal and state prosecutor, says she plans on filing for candidacy Monday afternoon.

"It is time to get tough on crime no matter who commits it," More said.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for Northern Illinois says it continues to investigate the case.