Jay Darshane has said Chicago police erased surveillance video in the case of McDonald, a black teenager shot 16 times by a white officer

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A Burger King manager who accuses Chicago police of erasing surveillance video in the case of Laquan McDonald, a black teenager shot 16 times last year by a white officer, says he has testified before a federal grand jury investigating the shooting.

Jay Darshane told the Chicago Tribune the FBI also took the restaurant video recorder containing all of its surveillance images.

The Chicago police chief and the Cook County state’s attorney say no one tampered with the Burger King video.

Laquan McDonald: senseless killing continues in video after video | Steven W Thrasher Read more

Federal prosecutors said this week that their investigation was continuing, but would not comment further.

On Tuesday, under a judge’s order, the city released police squad car video showing the shooting of McDonald, who was 17. Cook County prosecutors also announced this week that officer Jason Van Dyke had been charged with first degree murder.

Van Dyke and other officers were responding to a report of a teen with a knife who had been breaking into cars. The video released on Tuesday shows McDonald jogging down a street and then veering away from Van Dyke and another officer who emerge from a police SUV, drawing their guns.

Within seconds, Van Dyke begins firing. McDonald spins around and falls to the pavement as Van Dyke keeps shooting.

Though many observers feared trouble in Chicago akin to that recently in similar cases in Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri, no such problems flared up. Instead, on Friday, protesters sought to disrupt shopping in the city on the traditionally busy day after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Crowds shouting “16 shots! 16 shots!” and “Stop the cover-up” blocked traffic on Michigan Avenue and picketed luxury stores. Few arrests were made as police maintained a light touch on proceedings.

Van Dyke is being held without bond. His attorney has said Van Dyke feared for his life when he fired at McDonald and that the case should be tried in the courtroom, not in social media or on the streets.